Mistake Me
by Simply Rexene
Summary: When Roxas and Namine met online and fell in love under their alter-egos Sammy and Rosie, they never imagined that they would ever meet face to face, much less end up in high school together. Will Namine find out who Sammy really is? Or will she fall for his best friend Axel never knowing who she's really face to face with? (M for Mature Content, I claim no rights for KH.)
1. Painting With Roses

**Chapter One**

_Namine_

Painting with Roses

* * *

**August 2, 2014, 4:34 p.m.**

paintingwithroses: Sammy? You around?

paintingwithroses: Sammy…?

paintingwithroses: *sigh*

paintingwithroses: Damn it… I really needed your advice on something.

* * *

**August 2, 2014, 6:22 p.m.**

luckyXIII: Rosie?

luckyXIII: Sorry… I wasn't at my computer. Still here?

paintingwithroses: Oh thank God…

paintingwithroses: Sammy, I need your help.

luckyXIII: …?

luckyXIII: What's wrong?

paintingwithroses: My parents just told me we're moving. Like… all the way across the country!

luckyXIII: Whoa… why?

paintingwithroses: I think it's because of my sister… they really need to get out of this house.

paintingwithroses: But I don't want to move! I don't want to change schools… Oh God, just thinking about it makes me cringe. I mean, I was already nervous about going there without her this year, but… facing a whole new crowd? I don't think I can do it.

luckyXIII: Take a deep breath, I can hear you hyperventilating through the computer.

luckyXIII: I know it's scary, but I can see where your parents are coming from. I mean, they lost her so young. I can see why they'd want to get away.

paintingwithroses: Ughhhh… you're not supposed to agree with themmm…

luckyXIII: Well, it kind of makes sense. But hey, I understand why you're so scared to start at a new school. I definitely wouldn't want to do that.

paintingwithroses: Wouldn't it be great if I ended up at your school? Haha

luckyXIII: Yeah, like that would ever happen. XD The universe is definitely not that perfect.

paintingwithroses: I know… but I can dream. :P

luckyXIII: Have you calmed down a little?

paintingwithroses: I guess… You always know how to calm me down.

luckyXIII: Yeah… I guess I do.

* * *

**July 7, 2014, 9:28 p.m.**

luckyXIII: Rosie! I haven't heard from you all night, where ya at? ;P

luckyXIII: Rose…?

paintingwithroses: I… I just got back from the hospital…

luckyXIII: What?! Rosie, what happened? Are you okay?!

paintingwithroses: I… I'm fine, but… my sister died.

luckyXIII: …Your twin…? What do you mean she died?!

paintingwithroses: She was in her boyfriend's car… they were T-boned on the passenger's side by a semi… She… she didn't make it.

luckyXIII: Oh God, Rosie… I'm so sorry…

paintingwithroses: I don't even know how to function right now… I'm going to log off for awhile… I'll… I'll text you or something.

luckyXIII: Wait! Rosie I want to help… tell me how I can help!

_Message not sent. User is offline._

* * *

**August 2, 2014, 11:30 p.m.**

I shut my laptop, having said goodnight to Sammy just moments before. Yawning, I stretched a little bit before rolling my desk chair back and standing up, ready to crawl into my bed and try to forget about the impending move. I glanced around my room and a small pang of sadness touched my heart. I'd have to start packing the next day… tearing apart the bedroom that I'd spent years and years in.

"Namine! Are you in bed yet?!" my mother hollered outside the door, making me cringe a little bit. "You know we have a big day tomorrow, get some sleep!"

"I'm going now, ma!" I yelled back, padding to my dresser to change into my pajamas.

As I grabbed my over-sized t-shirt, my eye caught on a picture of my twin sister and I together at one of the school's carnivals. Kairi and I had been so happy that day… She had pink cotton candy and I had blue, and the smiles we had were so genuine…

Tearing my eyes away, I quickly got changed and slipped under my comforter, which was anything but comfortable to me at that moment. What would really have been comforting would be Sammy's arms around me… though I couldn't really even effectively imagine that, since I had no idea what he looked like. When I met him online, we agreed not to share any personal details about ourselves besides our ages and genders. So, I know him as Sammy, an 18 year old high school senior, or soon to be. He knows me as Rosie, a 17 year old high school senior. I know it's not his real name, but it gives me something to call him at least.

Sammy and I met on a fan site for our favorite video game, and our friendship actually began with us arguing back and forth on what characters were canon with each other. When we finally realized how stupid we were being, we started to chat and eventually traded our Instant Messaging IDs and… I guess we just became really good friends. Honestly, I kind of have a crush on him. I realize how stupid it is, but seriously… if I knew him in real life, he would be the perfect guy for me.

Except I don't. I have no idea if he's actually 18, or if he's just playing me. It's a bit disconcerting, but he seemed harmless enough. He'd never asked me for anything creepy, like nude photos or cyber sex. Plus, he was there for me when Kairi died… which was more than I could say for any of my other so-called friends. They all freaked out and shied away from me, leaving me to deal with it by myself. But not Sammy. He talked to me through the whole thing.

* * *

**August 24, 2014, 5:46 p.m.**

paintingwithroses: You know, I really thought I would hate this place… but my new bedroom is pretty amazing.

luckyXIII: I take it you're all moved in?

paintingwithroses: Finally. I thought it would never end. And just in time too, school starts tomorrow!

luckyXIII: Ah, same here… not looking forward to that at all.

paintingwithroses: Neither am I… but ohhhh my god. I have my own bathroom! Like, innn my bedroom! And there's this little room that I think is supposed to be like… a study, but I'm going to use it for my art space!

luckyXIII: Damn, did you move into a mansion?

paintingwithroses: Uhmmmm no. But it's a pretty decent size, I guess. I think my parents are overcompensating a little bit for making me switch schools. Plus, with the money from the lawsuit against the truck driver, we can pretty much afford anything we want.

luckyXIII: Wow. Sounds awesome. Hey so, I did have a question.

paintingwithroses: Yeah?

luckyXIII: Can you maybe make me an avatar like yours? You know, your OC on the site? I have all the specs for mine, but I tried to draw him and well… it was not pretty.

paintingwithroses: Sure! Send me the info and stuff… I'll probably be able to get it done by the end of the week.

luckyXIII: Awesome! I'll email it to you.

paintingwithroses: I'll try to do him justice. ;)

luckyXIII: With your talent? I'm sure it'll be amazing.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 5:45 a.m.**

When my alarm went off so early, I nearly had a heart attack. It'd been a long time since I'd woken up before 10, and an even longer time since I'd actually gotten up with my alarm. I slid my finger across the screen of my phone in a desperate attempt to silence the loud squawking tone, only succeeding after my millionth try. Much to my regret, I pulled myself to my feet and walked into my bathroom, starting to get ready for my first day at my new school.

Honestly, I was still terrified. I spent my entire shower wondering if I would get lost in the halls, or forget my schedule, or embarrass myself, or have to sit alone at lunch or…

I needed to stop. I needed to take a deep breath and calm down, just like Sammy said. I dried my platinum blonde hair quickly, forgoing the use of makeup at first but then going back and deciding to swipe on at least some mascara and lipgloss.

First day outfit… Something Kairi and I used to freak out about and plan a billion days in advance. We had the first day of school down to a science back when she was around. But for today, I would just slide on a simple white sundress and a pair of white flats. I wasn't so concerned with impressing people. I just wanted to get through my senior year in one piece so that I could start totally fresh in college.

"Namine, are you up?" my mom was suddenly in my doorway, giving it a timid little knock.

"Yeah, I'm just about ready, Mom… Just need to pack up my bookbag."

She was giving me that look… I could tell she had Kairi on her mind. "I, uhm… I'm glad that you like your new room. It looks like you settled in already."

"It's nice, yeah," I told her, giving her a little smile. "You're gonna be okay with me driving today, right…?"

My question definitely made her a bit uncomfortable. I don't think she'll ever trust cars again. "Yeah… just be safe and wear your seatbelt. And always slow down at intersections even if you have the right of way."

"I know, mom… I'll pay attention to the cars around me." The truck that hit Kairi had run a red light… didn't even slow down a little.

"Remember how to get there?" she asked, even though she'd driven me by the school about twenty times to make sure.

I just nodded, chuckling a little, "I'll be fine, Mom. Go get ready for work."

She gave me a quick hug before heading back to her own room, leaving me to grab some breakfast before school. All I really had time for was a Pop Tart and some orange juice, which was fine with me. Better than nothing, at least.

When I was done with breakfast, I got in my car and left for school… my stomach turning in knots the entire drive.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 7:20 a.m.**

I was a little early, school started at 7:40, but I was glad to have a chance to find my locker and my first classroom before things got too crazy. They had shown me to my locker when I visited during the open house, so all I had to do was remember where it was… but one turn down the wrong hallway had me wandering aimlessly like an idiot.

"Need some help…?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a low male voice sound from seemingly nowhere.

I turned in a full circle before a tall, red-haired man stepped out from one of the classrooms. "Uhm… maybe? Are… are you a teacher?"

His laugh was booming, echoing through the empty hallways. "No, no… I'm a senior this year. Name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Uh…. sure?" I offered, a little confused by his weird question. "I'm Namine, I'm new here this year."

"I know. I would have remembered you if I'd seen you before," he told me, stepping even closer. How tall was this guy? Jeez!

I nodded a little, "Yeah, I bet you would have memorized it, right?"

He gave me an odd look, not understanding my play on his earlier phrase. "Anyways, what locker are you looking for?"

"426," I told him, showing him the paper with all of the information on it. "They showed me last week, but this place is like a maze…"

"4? Then you must be a senior too, huh?" he asked, sizing me up as if he didn't believe me.

I shrugged, "Yeah? I mean, I know I look a little young but I _am_ 17…"

"17? Damn… they keep pushing kids into school younger and younger… I'm already 19. But I had a little trouble back in middle school showing up for class, so they held me back a year."

Great, I ran into the start student of the school. "So do you know where it is?"

He was already walking away with my schedule as I asked, forcing me to run along behind him just to keep up with his long legs. I was only 5'2", and he was probably well over 6' tall. He took me back the way I came and down the proper hall, stopping in front of my locker and standing to the side, presenting it to me with a pointed finger, "Right here, doll."

Doll? Really? "Uhm… thanks. That's all, I guess," I told him as I started to fidget with the combination lock. I had the code written down on the same sheet, but it just wasn't working for me. I about screeched when his hand suddenly snaked around me, skillfully undoing the lock in just one try.

"You gotta turn it to the right first, not the left, see?" His voice was right in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

I opened my locker and took off my bookbag, trying to squirm away from him as I did. Personal space didn't seem to be big with him, but I definitely valued my own. "Thanks…"

As I started to unpack my stuff, specifically the binders I had picked up for each class, I noticed that he wasn't leaving.

"Soooo… why are you here so early anyways? Nobody else seems to be here yet, save for the teachers," I asked him, curious what a delinquent like him would be doing here so early.

"My buddy Roxas was supposed to meet me early to eat breakfast in the cafeteria, but he never showed. So I got bored and decided to map out my classes for the day."

I nodded, still finding his story a little shifty. "Well… I might need some help finding mine. Like I said, this place is a maze."

"Not really," he said, snatching my schedule from me again. "Plus, we have our first three classes together!"

"Really…?" I wondered. I was in all Honors or Advanced Placement classes…

He could sense my skepticism, because he laughed again, "Hey, just cause I decided not to go to gym in 8th grade doesn't make me stupid. I'm a pretty smart guy!"

"I… I'm sure you are," I mumbled, curious to see if that was true. I was about to ask him where our first class was when my phone vibrated on the shelf of my locker, buzzing against the metal loudly and scaring the crap out of me.

As he chuckled at me, I checked my phone to find a message from Sammy.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 7:28 a.m.**

luckyXIII: Running behind already. D: Hope your first day is going better than mine!

paintingwithroses: Haha. It is! I mean, I kinda got totally lost trying to find my locker, but some guy helped me out!

luckyXIII: You have no idea how much I wish I was that guy…

paintingwithroses: Aww… I do too.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 7:30 a.m.**

Axel must have seen me smiling, because he had this weird Cheshire cat grin going on, "Who ya talking to? Boyfriend?"

"Ugh… I wish. Just some guy I met online," I told him, quickly realizing how weird that must have sounded. "I mean, he's a friend."

"Hey, hey… I don't judge. Rox is always meeting friends online, so I'm used to the little secretive messages. Personally, I don't know how you guys do it. I could never be friends with someone I haven't met face to face," he told me, leaning against the locker next to mine. People were starting to show up little by little, increasing my anxiety a bit.

Grabbing my first period binder, my phone and my purse, I turned to Axel and shut my locker, "Walk me to class?"

"You got it, doll," he said, smiling a little as he started off down the hall again. When he noticed me practically sprinting to keep up with him, he slowed down considerably and laughed, "I gotta stop hanging out with short people…"

First period was AP Chemistry, and the setup had three students at each long desk sitting on weird little barstools. Axel dragged me towards the back of the room and claimed us a table, throwing a ratty, already used folder down at the middle seat. "Mind if I save a seat for Rox? He's got AP Chem first too."

I shrugged, taking the seat closest to the windows, "I don't mind." I continued to eyeball his gross folder, "I really don't get how you can reuse your school supplies… The best part of a new school year is getting all new folders and binders and notebooks and pens… Ooh, new pens are the best things ever…" I went off into a little tangent about my love for art supplies. I could tell already that I lost him.

"ROX!" he suddenly exclaimed, crossing the room in like… two strides and bro-hugging this short little blond guy. Actually, he was probably still taller than me, but next to Axel anybody looked tiny. "Where were you this morning?! I thought we were gonna have breakfast!"

The blond, whom I assumed to be Roxas, just eyeballed him, "You mean, you thought I was going to bring you a Pop Tart. Seriously, does your dad ever feed you?"

"Did you bring me one or not, man?" Axel pretty much begged, looking starved suddenly. When Roxas pulled one out of his bag, Axel pretty much drooled on it, ripping the package open and eating half of one in one bite. "Aww fuck yeah, wildberry… your mom knows how to shop, Rox…"

Roxas just sighed and looked back at me, suddenly curious, "Who's that?"

"Oh," Axel said, swallowing as he tried to talk, "That's …Namine? I adopted her."

That caught my attention, making me raise an eyebrow, "He rescued me from getting lost this morning."

"Right… I'm Roxas," he said, offering a hand to shake.

I returned the handshake lightly, kind of surprised by how warm his hands were. It was chilly in the school. I was right in him still being taller than me. Even sitting on the barstool, I could tell he would tower over me as well by at least a few inches. "Namine. I just transferred here."

He gave me this strange look of excitement for a minute, but then shook it off and nodded, "Cool. Well, you picked an… interesting guy to show you around, but we'll take care of you until you can get adjusted."

"Sounds good," I said, smiling a little. I wasn't used to making friends so quickly, but I wasn't about to turn any down. Axel was certainly strange, but in an endearing way. And Roxas seemed nice enough.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 12:30 p.m.**

"Axel!" I squeaked, trying to dodge through people and keep up with him at the same time, "Don't lose me!" I had no idea how to get to the cafeteria, and the crowd of students in the hallways wasn't helping.

"I got ya," Roxas said, coming up behind me and latching his hand around my wrist.

After again being scared out of my skin, I sighed in relief and slowed down a little, "Oh thank God… how do you ever keep up with him?"

He just laughed, leading me to the cafeteria where Axel already had a small round table reserved for us. I set my stuff down, fishing around in my purse for my lunch money.

"So how are the lunches here? They were atrocious at my old school," I shuddered at the memory, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"I think they're decent," Axel said, standing up to get in line with us, "But I'll eat pretty much anything."

I shift a little, "Do they have a vegetarian option…?"

They both stared at me for a long moment before Axel laughed, "Makes sense, you being so skinny then. Yeah, they've got your weird rabbit food too."

"Thank God…" I mumbled, blushing a little. I've been a vegetarian since I really knew better. I honestly just don't like the taste and texture of meat. "And hey, I don't eat rabbit food! There's plenty of food besides vegetables without meat!"

Today's option happened to be one of my favorites, mac and cheese. We got our trays and went back to our table, all of us happy to have a break from the traditional first day class intros over and over and over…

"So we have most of our classes together in the afternoon too, except for art…" Axel said, looking over my schedule again. "But I think Roxas is in your art class! So you should have one of us with you at all times throughout the day!"

I nodded, a little glad that I'd have one class without Axel and his weirdness. It was almost confusing how Roxas and him were friends, but I guess it's true that opposites attract.

"Maybe you can help me in art… They accidentally put me in the accelerated class and it's too late to change my schedule, but I kind of royally suck at anything artistic," Roxas said, picking at his sad looking hamburger.

"Sure, I can help you out. Art is a breeze for me, I've been doing it since I could hold a pencil," I told him, wondering how bad he could really be if he was in AP Art with me. But he did say it was a mistake…

"Aww, score… we all have last period study hall together!" Axel exclaimed, stuffing my schedule back into my binder. I glared at him for that… I hate wrinkled papers. "This year is gonna be a total cake walk."

I just giggled, "Sure, Axe… lets pretend like it won't be difficult trying to get into college."

"College? Shit, I hadn't even thought that far ahead…" he mumled, his eyes widening a little.

Roxas chuckled, smiling at me, "I think you just broke his spirit, Namine."

"Hey, someone had to do it."


	2. Lucky XIII

**Chapter Two**

_Roxas_

Lucky XIII

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 2:50 p.m.**

"I'm telling you, Rox, she's perfect for me… absolutely perfect," Axel rambled on as we walked to our cars. "I gotta ask her out."

"Whoa, whoa… don't you think you're moving a little fast, Axel?" I suggest, trying to remind him that he met Namine this morning.

He sighed, whining a little, "But she's so hot… I don't want anyone to steal her. I called her!"

"Axel, she's a human being. You can't call dibs on her. Just… give it time. Let her get used to you first."

"It's gonna be hard, man… I could tell right away, there's definitely sparks between us."

I just shook my head, wondering where he imagined that from. Namine is a really cool girl, but she seemed nothing more than friendly towards either of us all day. I have to admit, when I heard that she was new, my thoughts immediately drifted to Rosie… but there's no way that could possibly be true. Wherever Rosie was starting school, it definitely wasn't here in Twilight Town.

* * *

**August 25, 2014, 3:38 p.m.**

luckyXIII: Hey Rosie, what's up? How was that first day?

paintingwithroses: Actually… it went really well. Made some new friends.

luckyXIII: Oh? That's cool.

paintingwithroses: Yeah! I was pleasantly surprised. How was your day?

luckyXIII: It was fine… same old same old.

paintingwithroses: Sounds… fun? Haha. Did your friend actually show up?

luckyXIII: Haha… yeah, he did. Even earlier than I did, for once.

paintingwithroses: He sounds like a trip.

luckyXIII: If only you knew… he's creeping all over this girl at school, and it's like watching a train wreck… I mean, there's absolutely nooo way that's happening.

paintingwithroses: Aww, but at least he's hopeful!

luckyXIII: Sure. :P

paintingwithroses: Anyways… So I was definitely going through school all day hoping to meet someone named Sammy.

luckyXIII: Ah, but that's not my name. ;P

paintingwithroses: I know… but I was still wishing.

luckyXIII: Well, I gotta admit… I was dying to hear of a new girl named Rosie too.

paintingwithroses: I knew you would be. :P But you know that's not my name either.

luckyXIII: Tell me?

paintingwithroses: Not a chance in hell, but nice try!

luckyXIII: I had to try… Can you blame me?

paintingwithroses: Haha… you could still be some weird 40 year old jacking off to your computer monitor.

luckyXIII: Well so could you! Haha XD

paintingwithroses: Oh whatever. I'm a fabulous young lady and you know it.

luckyXIII: Suuuuure… WITH A DICK

paintingwithroses: Offense! I take offense to this!

luckyXIII: Oh hush, I know you're being honest. I wouldn't have fallen for you if you weren't.

paintingwithroses: …

paintingwithroses: Fallen for me?

luckyXIII: Well… yeah… I mean, we've been talking for months and… I just…

luckyXIII: I suck at this game.

luckyXIII: Sorry…

paintingwithroses: Relax, Sammy… I kind of have a huge crush on you too.

luckyXIII: Seriously…?

paintingwithroses: Well… yeah.

paintingwithroses: I mean, you're kind of my perfect match.

paintingwithroses: It's really too bad that we had to meet like this.

luckyXIII: Just tell me where you moved, Rose…

luckyXIII: Please, I gotta know…

paintingwithroses: No, Sam.

paintingwithroses: The internet is too unpredictable.

paintingwithroses: I have to stay safe.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 7:15 a.m.**

My drive to school was a grumpy and annoying one. Everything was getting on my nerves, no matter if it was traffic or a stupid song on the radio. I just wish… Rosie would open up to me. I get it, the internet is a scary place, and you never know who's on the other end of a conversation… but god damn it. With this new girl wandering around… I have to know if it's her.

"Whoa, man… you look beat," Axel said as I sat down in Chem that morning.

"I don't want to talk about it," I told him, waving a little at Namine to acknowledge her presence.

She waved back, her nose stuck in a little sketchbook scribbling away. It was cute the way she would lose herself in her art. Yesterday in art class she hardly knew I was there as she sketched. It wasn't even an assignment she was doing. Inspiration must have just struck her or something, because she got this little glimmer in her eyes and suddenly whipped out her book and just went at it. I didn't know what she was drawing, but I bet it was good.

"Hey Namine, what're you doing?" Axel's voice cut through my thoughts.

She slammed her book shut and shrugged, "Nothing… just a doodle."

I wondered for a brief moment how Rosie was doing with my OC request. Honestly, I just gave her a description of myself. Appearance-wise, at least. I didn't tend to go too deep with my original characters. Most of them ended up having an element of me in them somewhere. I knew it would look nothing like me, but that made me even more curious.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 12:40 p.m.**

"Damned long lunch lines…" I grumbled, sitting down at our table. There she was again, scribbling away in her little book while her salad remained uneaten.

I reached over and shut her book, tilting her head up to look at me, "You need to eat, Namine."

She seemed a little taken aback by my touch, but just nodded a little, "Yes… thank you…"

"Having a moment?" Axel joked, plopping his tray down and making both of us jump a little.

I quickly took my hand from her face, coughing, "Jesus, Axel… you really know how to scare the crap out of people."

"Can't have you moving in on my woman, bro," he said, taking his seat.

Namine only scoffed, "_Your_ woman? I belong to nobody, sir."

"Got her calling me Sir already, see?" he commented, only to get whacked in the gut with her sketch book.

Axel was just the type to be into that… Though I doubt he hardly even knew what it really was.

"Excuse me, Axel, but there's only one man in my life I'll ever call Sir, and I haven't met him yet," she sniped right back at him, peaking my curiosity even further. "Now, if you'll cease to ruin my appetite, I'd like to eat."

Axel jabbed me in the side, holding his phone under the table. It was his sign that he wanted to text me about something.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 12:53 p.m.**

Axel: Did she just admit that she's into that shit?

Roxas: I don't know? Does it matter?

Axel: Dude… she is PERFECT.

Roxas: Wow, you took the time to capitalize it, you must be serious.

Axel: What? Rox, come on. Help a brother out, point her in my direction.

Roxas: Axe, she doesn't want to date you.

Axel: She just needs some persuading!

Roxas: I shouldn't have to persuade her! If she's interested, she's interested! If not, I can't help you.

Axel: What, do you like her or something?

Roxas: No! I happen to hold interest in another lady.

Axel: Whoa. Who?!

Roxas: Not important. Just… cool it.

Axel: You're no fun.

Namine: You two are soooo not secretive.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 12:59 p.m.**

Wait, what? When did I give her my number? Who am I kidding, Axel gives everyone my number.

"Sorry Namine, we had… important matters to discuss. Wouldn't want to ruin your lunch after all," Axel tried to cover up. She must have sent him the same text.

"Well, lunch is over now. I'll leave you two to have your secret conversation. I can find the art room by myself from here," she said, grabbing her books and leaving the table just as the bell rang.

I waited for her to walk out of ear shot before giving Axel the most dumbfounded of all looks. "You're an idiot, I think."

"What?! Why?!" he feigned ignorance.

"You can't just throw yourself at her like that. She's not like your normal …conquests. A girl like Namine deserves romance and honesty. Not sarcastic little quips about bondage and slavery," I told him, keeping my voice hushed a little as we walked through the crowded hallways.

He nodded a little, "Romance, got it." It only took him a moment to turn to me, "So how do I do that? You're like… a romantic guy, right? I mean, you seem like one. So what can I do?"

"Well, you told me you helped her open her locker, right? So you know her combo," I mentioned. That guy memorized everything. "Why don't you do something special like fill it with red roses and a nice card that asks her out on a date?"

He needed a minute to process that. "Whoa… that's like… intense. Do you think she'll go for it? I don't wanna make a fool out of myself…"

"If I've learned anything about her in the past couple days, it's that she appreciates romance. Did you not notice her reading a romance novel in study hall yesterday?"

Axel just shook his head, "Uh… no. Her skirt rode up on her thigh a little and I kinda lost track of everything else."

It took all I had not to just slam my head into my locker door when he said that. "First of all, stop treating her like a piece of meat. Second, be romantic," I told him, slamming my locker shut and taking off for art class. Why was I even helping him with this?

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 2:45 p.m.**

"So where can I get roses?" Axel badgered me with questions on our way out of the building. "Are they expensive? I mean, aren't like… daisies or something cheaper?"

I cocked a brow, looking over at him, "You are a true romantic, Axe…"

"I'm freaking out here… I wanna do this right!"

"Red. Roses. At least a dozen. Get a card printed, don't just scribble on some notebook paper," I told him, leaning against the hood of my truck. "I still don't get why you're freaking out so much. You've known her for less than two days."

He sprawled himself against my truck dramatically, "But I felt it right away… the minute I saw her wandering down the hall all lost and adorable… I've got it bad, Rox…"

I had to hand it to him, the man did certainly embrace his feelings.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 6:08 p.m.**

Axel: Got everything together, man… this is gonna be epic.

Roxas: I just hope you don't get your feelings hurt, buddy.

Axel: How could she possibly say no? Hey, keep her distracted after art class tomorrow for a couple minutes to buy me some time at her locker.

Roxas: Will do, captain. Good luck.

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 6:26 p.m.**

paintingwithroses: Sammy?

paintingwithroses: You've been quiet…

paintingwithroses: Are you mad at me?

luckyXIII: No… just kind of disappointed.

paintingwithroses: I'm sorry… but you know why I can't.

luckyXIII: I know, I know…

luckyXIII: I'm just tired of this. I want to hold you in my arms, Rosie…

paintingwithroses: Say it, Sammy. Tell me how you feel about me.

luckyXIII: I… I love you, Rosie.

_Message not sent. User is offline._

* * *

**August 26, 2014, 6:32 p.m.**

Fuck everything. Fuck my life for getting this fucked up. Professing my love to a girl on the internet… she didn't even get the damned message!

What has my life turned into? Setting my best friend up with a girl he barely knows and probably setting her up for embarrassment and humiliation? I'm living in my own dream world. Sure, someone like Rosie would for sure love a move like that, but do I really know Namine that well? She could be allergic to roses, or just flat out reject him… I don't think his dramatic heart could take that.

Either way, it's too late now… Tomorrow he's either going to sink or swim with her, and it really hope it's the latter.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 12:45 p.m.**

It was about halfway through lunch the next day when I felt Axel stabbing me with something.

"Dude… read this, is it okay?" he whispered, handing me the card he'd made for her.

_Roses are red, violets are purple. I like your face. Date me?_

I think my brain is now running down the side of my face. "Uh… it's fine?" I told him, slipping it back to him under the table. Too late now!

He stashed it away in his folder with this weird little smile and my heart actually hurt for a moment. He was so excited… I really didn't want to see him get crushed.

Looking at Namine, she really had no idea what she was about to walk into. She was just scribbling away in her sketch book again while she nibbled at her lunch.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 1:50 p.m.**

"Hey, Namine? Can you just explain to me why we used graphite instead of charcoal for that last exercise?" I tried to stall her like he asked.

She explained it to me, but then started gathering her stuff. "I gotta run to my locker before math, walk with me?"

I really hadn't wanted to be there for it, but… "Sure, let's go."

When she approached her locker I stayed back a few feet, seeing Axel hovering nearby. I could see the confusion on her face when she opened her locker to see the roses and took a few steps closer to eavesdrop on them.

"Roses are red, violets are…" she mumbled as she read the card. "Date me?" She looked around for who could have possibly sent it, and her eyes settled on me for a moment before Axel stepped into her line of sight, looking like a begging puppy.

"Would you go on a date with me, Namine?" he asked, holding out one single rose for her in his hand.

She seemed incredibly shocked by this, and I'm assuming that the time frame had a lot to do with it. "I…"

"I really think we could have something special between us, if you just let me show you…" he continued as she reached forward and took the rose from him, twirling it between her fingers.

"Uhm… sure, Axel. I'd love to go out with you sometime," she finally said, and I let out a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding. "This was sweet… how'd you know I love roses?"

He shrugged, a wide grin on his lips, "Just a guess… lemme walk you to class," he said, grabbing her books from her and letting her keep the rose.

All I can say is… thank God.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 10:07 p.m.**

Axel: Roxas… I just got back from the best date of my life.

Roxas: Awesome… what'd you do?

Axel: Dinner and a movie, the classic. She's amazing…

Roxas: Glad to hear it. You make plans again?

Axel: Yeah… we're hanging out tomorrow after school too.

Roxas: Cool. Everything worked out then.

Axel: I got to kiss her!

Roxas: Great… good for you.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 10:12 p.m.**

Namine: So how did you know I loved roses?

Roxas: I… was just guessing.

Namine: You know, you remind me a lot of a friend of mine.

Roxas: …Thanks?

Namine: Definitely a good thing, haha. Uhm… thank you for giving me that little bit of romance.

Roxas: Axel did that, actually.

Namine: You expect me to believe he came up with that on his own?

Roxas: I just wanted to see him happy.

Namine: He got me 13 roses… I always thought the number 13 was lucky.

Roxas: Yeah?

Namine: It must be… even my friend's IM tag is luckyXIII.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 10:23 p.m.**

I swear my heart stopped beating inside my chest when I read that text message from her. Could it be true? Could Namine be my Rosie…?

My immediate reaction was to freak out and ask if it was her, but my fingers stopped abruptly on the screen of my phone. She just got back from a wonderful date with my best friend. I can't ruin that… not for either of them.

Namine can never find out that I'm Sammy. Never.


	3. Date Me?

**Chapter Three**

_Namine_

Date Me?

* * *

**August 27, 2014 5:02 p.m.**

"Namine? I think your friend is here!" my mom called up the stairs, causing my heart to skip around a little. Even if I didn't exactly feel the spark Axel did, I was still nervous to go on this date with him.

When I saw that note in my locker, I'm not gonna lie, I immediately wanted to say no. Somewhere inside me I still had hopes that I would meet Sammy some day and live happily ever after with him. But… I can't just stop living my life in the real world because of some guy on the internet. Besides… Axel is cute, and even though he's a little strange I can tell he's a good guy at heart.

"Coming!" I call, straightening out my favorite blue dress and sliding my shoes on. I didn't really think we would be going out literally right away, but… he seemed to eager to get to know me better so why not?

He was standing at the base of the stairs with my mom, making her look like a dwarf in comparison. They seemed to be getting along… he was making her laugh at the very least.

"Namine… you look gorgeous," he smiled up at me, his genuine grin making my heart jump a little.

"Thanks Axel… you clean up pretty well yourself," I teased. He did look rather handsome in a pair of black dress pants and a black dress shirt. He wore his red Converse as always, but… he tried, I guess?

He turned to my mom and gave a little bow, "I'll have her back before 11, not to worry."

"Just drive safely please!" she called after us as we headed out the front door. I always wondered what kind of car he drove, but we never seemed to park in the same lot… the school only has about a billion of them.

When he approached a motorcycle, my immediate reaction was to turn and run back inside, but something kept me walking toward it… even with my heart racing.

"This is… yours?"

He chuckled a little, "Well I'm not stealing it, if that's what you're implying," he joked, offering me a helmet. "What? I promise I'm a safe rider."

I gulped a little and accepted the helmet, fastening it onto my head as securely as I could before staring up at him. My head felt like it weighed a million pounds… and my heart felt like it was going to explode. "I just… get a little nervous about vehicles in general." I wasn't about to tell him all of that now though.

"The restaurant is right around the corner… I promise we'll get there safely," he said, straddling the bike. "Just hop on the back and hold onto me tightly. You're going to love it."

Most men wouldn't generally force their date into a terrifying, life threatening experience right away… but something about him made me feel better, and much to my surprise I actually climbed onto the motorcycle and hugged him tight around the waist.

Honestly, it wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be. Actually, the ride was pretty fun. And holding onto Axel wasn't exactly awful either… the man radiated heat that was oddly comforting.

"So, was it that bad?" he asked as he helped me hop down and get my helmet off.

"Actually, no… I kind of liked it," I admit, smiling up at him. This was a bit of a different side of Axel… he was kind of being a sweetheart.

I was surprised again when we entered the restaurant. It was pretty nice, not really what I was expecting for a quickly planned date. I had been under the impression that maybe his family didn't have a lot of money, but he must be getting it from somewhere… and he'd never mentioned anything about a job.

"So, Axel… tell me more about yourself," I prompt him, hoping to find out more.

He was more than willing to oblige, "Well… I'm an only child but I have a cousin, Demyx, that I'm really good friends with. He's a junior at school with us, but I don't see him a lot during the day because he's always in the band room with his weird group of friends. I'll have to introduce you two sometime. Uhmm… I kind of grew up as a rich kid, though I really tried not to let my parent's money change me too much. I hope I don't come off as a bratty rich guy…"

"Not at all! I actually had no idea…" I told him, laughing a little. "Wait, so why do you steal a Pop Tart from Roxas every morning?"

He shrugged, "I hate grocery shopping."

"That's… interesting. So do you have any pets or anything?"

"Nah… but I've always wanted a pug. Ugly little fuckers… they're so awesome," he said, chuckling. "Do you have any?"

I shook my head, "No… I'm allergic to cats and we've just never had a dog."

"Ugh, you're lucky. Cats are assholes. My mom keeps trying to convince us that we need one, but I hate them," he said, grimacing a little.

"I actually agree. Totally not a cat person anyways."

He set his menu down and looked up at me, suddenly seeming very curious, "So what about you? Have any siblings or anything?"

I froze for a moment… how do I answer that? "Well, I…"

"May I take your order?" the waiter saved my ass from that—at least for the time being.

We ordered our food and I hoped and prayed that he would forget his question. "So Axel, how long have you had your motorcycle?"

He faltered for a moment, but answered me anyways, "I got it last year over the summer… It was a gift for my 18th birthday from my dad."

"Ah, yeah… I keep forgetting that you're 19 already!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an old man…" he grumbled, chuckling a little. I had to admit, his smile was rather dashing.

I shrugged and flashed a smile back at him, "So what if I like older men?"

His bright green eyes just lit up, and it made my heart skip a little, "Then that makes me the luckiest old man alive, I think."

"You really like me, huh?" I asked him, biting my lower lip softly.

He blushed a little and shrugged, "When I first saw you wandering down the hallway I think my heart stopped… You're just so beautiful, and then when you turned out to be so smart and such a good person, it just made me like you even more."

"So you don't usually ask people out after knowing them for two days?"

"Nooo, not at all… I kind of suck at asking girls out, honestly. Back when I was a freshman I had a crush on this girl all year, and by the time I brought up the courage to ask her out she was dating someone else," he explained, "So when I saw you… I dunno, I just didn't want to wait."

I guess it made sense… It was kind of flattering, actually. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. Lately I've been so caught up in stuff that I kind of stopped living in reality. It's really nice to be out and about having fun for once."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself," he said as our food finally came out to the table. Dinner looked absolutely fantastic, and tasted even better than it looked.

"Axel, this place is awesome… I haven't had food this good in a long time!"

He smiled a little, "Glad you think so… my parents own the place," he said, "Did you notice that the name of the restaurant happens to match my last name?"

"I… don't think I knew your last name, actually…" I admitted, blushing as I quickly looked around, trying to find a sign with the name on it.

"It's DiRosa," he said, laughing at my obvious failure. "The restaurant is called DiRosa's."

I giggled a little and nodded, "Lovely last name… Anyways, they must do really well in the business then!"

"Oh yeah, this is a 4-star place. They make more money than they know what to do with. But believe me, it took some trials and tribulations for them to build it up to this point."

"I bet… running a restaurant is really difficult," I said, looking around. Everything about the place was just warm and inviting. I could see why they did so well. "So do they actually work here then?"

He shook his head, "Nah, they both retired a few years ago. But my Aunt Sharon is the head chef, so she makes sure the managers are running it right."

"So, are you going to take over the family business one day?" I wondered, looking up at him.

"I dunno… I think they want me to, but honestly the thought of it just makes me cringe a little. I don't really like the idea of having my future all planned out for me. I'd rather make my own choices."

"I really respect that, Axel…" I told him, smiling softly, "For the longest time, my parents thought my sister and I would both become lawyers like them and start this big family law firm, but… I don't think they really care what I do now."

He nodded, "Oh, so you have a sister?"

My heart sank, and I took a deep breath and decided to just tell him. "Her name was Kairi… we were twins. She… she passed away over the summer."

I don't know what I expected him to do, but in half a second he was on my side of the booth giving me a tight hug. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Namine… I didn't mean to bring it up…"

"Axel, it's okay…" I told him, leaning into him a little. "You didn't know… It was a car accident. I've… I've accepted it, finally. I mean it's still weird that she's gone, but it doesn't hurt as much anymore." That was only half true. It would always hurt… but I at least wasn't crying every ten minutes anymore.

He sat up a little but stayed on my side of the booth, keeping an arm around me. We were pretty much done with our food anyways, so we were just stalling before the movie. "I can't even begin to try and understand how that feels, but if you ever need to talk about anything just… let me know. I'm a good listener, if nothing else!"

I chuckled a little, resting my head against his shoulder. "I might take you up on that sometime. But not tonight… tonight, let's just have fun."

"Agreed! Want some dessert? I can have my aunt make us her special molten chocolate lava cake. It's not on the menu, but it's fucking amazing."

My eyes widened and I nodded quickly, "Do it nowww! I loveee chocolate!"

He waved a waiter over and whispered something in his ear, then turned back to me, "It'll be out in about ten minutes."

"Sounds perfect," I said, sighing softly and sort of nuzzling myself against him. He was so warm and comforting…

I must have surprised him a little with that, because he was definitely holding his breath.

"Axel… breathe," I told him, giggling a little.

He let out a long exhale, his cheeks flushing bright red, "Oh… sorry… I, uhm…"

"Axel, have you ever had a girlfriend before?" When I first met him he seemed like the kind of guy who dated a lot, but now I wasn't getting that impression.

"Well… no, not really," he admitted, looking down at me with those intense green eyes of his.

I smiled a little, "That's cute… I've only dated one guy before… but he ended up being a total jerk."

"You seemed surprised by that… do I come across as a player or something?"

"Not a player, really… but someone who gets the girl a lot," I told him, shrugging, "But you're just full of surprises."

He laughed, pulling me closer, "Good ones, I hope…"

"So far!" I exclaimed, giggling a little.

* * *

**August 27, 2014, 9:20 p.m.**

"That movie was absolutely hilarious!" I told Axel as we walked out of the theater.

"Right? I couldn't stop laughing through the whole thing!" he agreed, wrapping an arm around my waist. "So hey… Do you wanna maybe take a walk around the block? I really don't wanna say good night just yet."

I shrugged, not seeing any harm in it, "Sure… as long as there's streetlights. I'm not the hugest fan of the dark."

He laughed a little, squeezing me, "I'll keep you safe… but there are plenty of streetlights too."

We started our walk, which was basically him walking in slow motion while I tried to keep up. He actually was doing a pretty good job at trying not to leave me in the dust.

"So… you had fun tonight?" he asked me, looking down with hopeful eyes.

"Of course I did… I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit skeptical at first when you asked me out," I told him, deciding to just be totally honest, "I had been a little caught up with this guy I met online… We're really good friends and I was starting to get some feelings for him, but hell… I don't even know his real name."

He nodded, and I could tell he was a little bit surprised by that. "I've always thought long distance relationships were a bad idea. I mean, who would want all of that distance over something like this? We're right here together… I can look into your eyes, I can reach out and touch you, hug you… I could even kiss you if you let me."

That made me blush a little, and I suddenly realized how right he really was. This was, and always would be, so much better than just staring at a computer screen wishing I could be with Sammy. "So you wanna kiss me, huh?" I teased, leaning into him playfully.

"How could I not want to? You're kind of the perfect girl."

I scoffed a little, "Nobody is perfect… But I appreciate that."

"Well, you're perfect for me. Really, you're very different from the other girls at school… you don't have the same thought process as them. They're all obsessed with their hair and makeup and whatever new pop music garbage is out… All they worry about is whether or not they're dating a football player. But you… you have depth to you. You have a passion with your art. You've been through something more difficult than I can even imagine, yet you're still one of the kindest, most generally positive people I know. Plus, you're gorgeous. And not in a dumb blonde way, in like… a classic, just really pretty way. …And I'm rambling like a moron," he finished, his face flushed bright, bright red.

I was almost at a loss for words. Nobody had ever said such kind things to me before… especially not after knowing me for only three days. "I was totally wrong about you, Axel… I honestly thought this was going to be some cornball date that would just be awkward the whole time… and I really thought I was going to have to let you down with the 'I just wanna be friends' speech at the end of the night. But you have just turned out to be the sweetest guy… and this has been one of the best dates I've ever been on."

"Hey, I've been holding back my goofball side tonight to be romantic," he joked, chuckling lowly. "It's one of those things I can turn off and on when I need to."

"Apparently! You're like a whole new person compared to the guy I first met at school," I told him, "Though I know he's still in there too, just dying to say something corny."

He laughed, nodding, "I've bitten my tongue a couple of times… not that my little speech a minute ago wasn't embarrassing enough."

"It was sweet… It showed me how much you really like me," I said, stopping suddenly and turning to look up at him. "And made me realize how much I like you."

I met his eyes and my breath caught in my throat, my heart pounding in my chest. I opened my mouth to say something, anything… but nothing came out. He smiled a little, "I really want to kiss you right now…" he mumbled, his eyes bearing into mine.

"So kiss me," I whispered, placing my hands on his chest and leaning up into him. He met me half way, and the moment our lips touched I knew that I'd made the right decision in going out with him.

Our first kiss was sweet, soft and lingering, but we had only parted for a moment before he pulled me back into a deeper, more passionate kiss that got my heart racing and made my knees weak. When he released me from that one, I was left breathless. "Wow…"

"S…sorry… I guess I got carried away," he mumbled, giving me a sheepish look.

I just laughed, shaking my head, "You don't have to apologize for kissing me like that… Just took my breath away is all."

"Now you know how I felt when I first saw you," he said, giving me a playful wink.

This night could not have gone more perfectly.

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 7:25 a.m.**

By the time I got to school in the morning, I realized that I hadn't talked to Sammy in about a day and a half. My internet had cut out last time and booted me off for the rest of the night, so I never got the answer to my question about how he felt about me. I knew the answer… but after my amazing evening with Axel I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it anymore.

"Did I mention last night how gorgeous you are?" Axel's voice suddenly flooded my ears as his arms enveloped me from behind. I closed my locker and turned to face him, leaning back on it as he settled his hands against it on either side of me.

"Only about twenty times," I laughed, poking him in the side.

He chuckled and brushed my hair out of my eyes for me, "You need to get your bangs cut… those big blue eyes of yours are too pretty to hide under your hair."

"I like my hair just the way it is!" I exclaimed, shaking my head to move them back over my eyes.

Axel just rolled his eyes, blowing on my face to move them again, then fixing the cowlicky mess with his fingers. "There," he said, looking all proud of himself. I went to push them back into their normal place and he caught my wrist with his hand, staring me down, "Leave them."

"Ugh! Mean…" I mumbled, grumbling I displeasure. He dropped my wrist and I fought the urge to immediately fix my hair, instead pouting up at him, "Kiss me then?"

He grinned, immediately turning into a goofball. "Well I dunno… I don't think I can…"

"Axel!" I giggle, whacking him on the chest.

"Ohhh fine…" he exaggerated, rolling his eyes as he leaned down to kiss me.

"Ah, perfect," a voice cut through our kiss, startling both of us, "And it begins…"

Axel groaned and turned around, revealing Roxas standing behind us. "Rox, you ruined my moment… not cool."

"Oh, 'cause the school hallway is the perfect place to have a moment," he said sarcastically. He seemed to be in an exceptionally bad mood today.

"Good morning to you too, Roxas," I said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at him.

He just grumbled a little, "We should get to class."

I opened my locker again and grabbed my books, wondering why he was in such a mood. "I think Roxas needs a hug," I commented under my breath to Axel.

Little did I know that he would take me completely seriously and lift Roxas off of his feet in the most intense bro-hug I'd ever seen, leaving me nearly falling over laughing. Roxas just looked even more pissed, though I could tell he was trying to fight back a smile. "Cheer up, Rox!" Axel commanded, setting him back down on his feet.

"Jesus Axel! Warn a person!" he barked, straightening out his t-shirt and gripping his books more tightly.

"What fun would that be? 'Just letting you know, I'm about to invade your personal space,'" he mocked in a silly voice. "Boring!"

Roxas just rolled his eyes and shook his head, "You're insane, I think. Namine, how do you like this guy?"

I shrugged, "I'm just dating him for more chocolate lava cake."

Axel sputtered a little, looking offended, "Hey! You told me last night that I was surprisingly romantic!"

"Yes, and you fell for it just like I wanted," I teased, leaning into him, "My evil plan for more cake is in effect!"

"Yeah, sure! See if you ever get any again!" he exclaimed, ruffling my hair up.

I laughed triumphantly, "Ha! You put my hair back in my eyes!"

He swore under his breath, looking all defeated. "I never win…"

"Get used to it, honey, I'll outfox you every time."


	4. Artistic Misrepresentation

**Chapter Four**

_Roxas_

Artistic Misrepresentation

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 12:33 p.m.**

"Hey, Rox! Ready to be a live model in art class?" Namine snuck up on me with her question, plopping her tray down next to me.

I had almost forgotten that I signed up for that… Nothing else had been on my mind since I found out that Namine was Rosie. "Uh… yeah, I guess…" It was either that, or draw the live models… and I wasn't about to do that. I could barely draw a cartoon, much less a realistic human being.

"I'm super excited to draw you," she chattered, "Except this girl Yuffie said she might want me to model for her… I dunno if I want to, but she did ask really nicely."

"Yuffie…?" I tried to remember who she was talking about. "The girl with the short black hair?"

She nodded, "Yeah! I've been chatting with her during art class while you're zoned out. She's super nice."

Suddenly Axel appeared out of nowhere, wrapping his arms around Namine from behind. I turned my gaze down to my tray… I couldn't really handle seeing them together yet. "Hey guys! What's going on?"

"Just talking about the start of Roxas' modeling career," she joked, looking at me.

I just scoffed, trying not to meet her beautiful eyes, "Yeah, whatever… it's a one time thing."

"Ooh, is Roxy gonna get naked?" Axel prodded me in the side, sitting down in his seat.

"No!" I exclaimed, shoving his hand away, "Don't be a moron, Axe… It's just for stupid art class."

Namine blushed a little, "Actually… I heard a rumor that they want you shirtless."

"Is that even legal?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Wellllll you are 18, and I don't even think the teacher is going to be there. It seems like he isn't in the room all that often…" she trailed off, probably wondering why that was.

Axel just shrugged, "I heard he's on drugs."

"That definitely wouldn't surprise me," she said, laughing. She had the best laugh… so light and adorable.

I just huffed a little, "Well… we'll see."

"Roxas is all embarrassed about his muscles," Axel declared, making me cringe. He was right… I didn't want people gaping at me just because I work out sometimes. "He might look scrawny from the outside, but underneath there is all muscle!"

Namine looked over at me, and I could tell she was immediately curious. "Ooh… You know, I don't think I've seen you in anything other than a hoodie. Why don't you ever wear t-shirts?"

"Because… I don't like having a bunch of attention drawn to me. Like now, for instance," I snapped, slinking down into my chair a little.

She scoffed, "You're no fun… what's the point in being all muscular if you won't show anyone?"

Axel seemed offended, "Hey! I have muscles too, ya know!"

"Yeah? Where are you hiding them?" she teased, poking him in the side, "Seems pretty squishy to me!"

Of course he had to turn all macho and start flexing, "They're there! See?!"

She just giggled at him, her cheeks turning a little pink. For so long I had wondered what Rosie would look like, sound like, laugh like… Now she was in front of me and I couldn't do or say anything.

"Shit, we gotta go Rox… they want the models there a few minutes early," Namine suddenly stood up, shoving the rest of her grilled cheese into her mouth at once. Why was everything she did so cute?!

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 12:56 p.m.**

"Okay, so Namine… I have a huge, huge favor to ask of you," Yuffie said, skipping up to our table. "Actually, Roxas… you too."

I lifted an eyebrow, turning to face her more, "Yeah?"

"I want to draw you two together," she told us, seeming incredibly excited about whatever idea she had. "The only thing is… the pose I have in mind is a little… uhm… Well, it's like a romantic thing. School appropriate, of course!"

I glanced at Namine to see her reaction. Pretending to be in love with her was going to be more than easy for me. She just shrugged, "Sure! How do you need us?"

Apparently she was volunteering me as well. "Okay, so come over by the window a little so I have the brick wall background… Uhm… Roxas, this is gonna seem odd… but can you take just your shirt off?"

So the rumors were true… "I guess so…" I mumbled, standing up and starting to lift my hoodie and t-shirt over my head at once. Immediately I heard someone take a sharp little inhale, but I didn't catch if it was Namine since the entire class was now staring at me.

Yuffie just nodded, impressed, "Well damn… that's even better. Namine, take off your cardigan so you just have your dress on."

"Okay!" Namine chirped, sliding her little sweater thing off. She was left wearing a thin-strapped sundress, white with blue flowers. It made her eyes super vibrant, which in turn made my heart race. What was I about to get into?

"So Namine, just stand here and look forward for now… Roxas, you get behind her and kind of hug her over her arms," Yuffie instructed. I moved awkwardly behind Namine, hesitating a little before wrapping my arms around her. I was leaving a gap between our bodies, but Yuffie quickly shook her head, "Rox, you gotta get closer… She's not gonna bite you. Right, Namine?"

She just shrugged, "I might."

Yuffie giggled, a little titter of a laugh, "Well regardless… you need to actually press up against her."

I sighed a little and pulled Namine back into my arms like I'd always wanted to do. "Like this?"

"Perfect… move your arms together, keeping her hands in yours, and wrap one across her chest and one down a little farther on her waist, like you've just snuck up and grabbed her from behind."

That made me chuckle a little, "Getting a bit of a rapey vibe here, Yuffie…"

Namine just went with it, moving her arms under mine to where Yuffie said.

"Er… move the top one up a little more, almost like you're trying to reach her other shoulder," Yuffie corrected us, but then just ended up moving our arms herself. "Now Roxas… lean your chin against her shoulder a little, like you're whispering in her ear…"

I was beginning to get uncomfortable… not physically, but mentally. I moved to her shoulder and I could feel her shiver a little as my breath hit her ear.

"Now Namine, turn your head a little as if you're about to look at Roxas, then tilt it down just a bit and let your eyes flutter closed softly."

Namine did as she said, and I could feel her heart beating quickly. My own was beating out of my chest, making me wonder if I would stroke out before class was over.

"Roxas, look at her like you love her," Yuffie said, "Right now you still look like she's gonna bite you. You two are friends, right? Don't let it be weird, just… pretend she's someone you're in love with."

Yeah, 'cause I'd be pretending…

"Perfect! Hold your pose right there. I'll start drawing!" Yuffie squealed, grabbing her stuff.

This pose was so intimate… It honestly felt like I had just come up behind my girlfriend and kissed her on the neck. With no shirt… my bare skin against her. She was so warm, and I could feel her chest moving up and down with each breath she took. Occasionally they would come out shaky, which either meant she was feeling what I was… or she was cramping up and needed to move.

As 45 minutes passed slowly by, Yuffie only let us stretch a couple of times. Otherwise, we were locked in each other's arms… When the bell rang, I nearly jumped away from Namine, grateful that we were done.

"Guys, you were absolutely perfect!" Yuffie said, finishing up her sketch and shutting her book. "I have some finishing touches to make, but you'll be able to see it when they post them in the hall!"

I slid my hoodie back down over my head, groaning, "Really, you're going to put it up in the hall?"

She shrugged, "Why not? I'm proud of it!"

"Maybe because I was shirtless and looking like I was ready to rape Namine?!"

Yuffie smirked a little, "That's not at all what it looked like, Roxas…"

Namine was already back in her cardigan with her stuff packed up, "I gotta go meet Axel, see you in math Roxas!"

When she was gone, Yuffie looked at me with a furrowed brow, "Roxas, are you in love with her?"

"Uhm, no. What makes you say that?" I tried not to sound too defensive… but it was hard when I was lying.

"Look at the expression on your face, Roxas… that's like… pure love," she said, showing me the sketch. Namine looked so relaxed and happy… and I definitely looked like I was in love with her.

I thought for a moment, but I couldn't come up with an excuse, "You can't put that up in the hall. She's dating my best friend."

"How can you love her after less than a week?" Yuffie wondered, looking genuinely concerned.

"We… knew each other before she tranferred. But she doesn't remember, so don't say anything to her. As far as she knows… Axel likes her a lot. I can't ruin that for them," I told her, "Promise me you won't say anything, Yuffie."

She nodded, "I promise… but Roxas, why not just tell her that you know her?"

"It's way more complicated than you know… let's just leave it at that."

"Just be careful… falling for your best friend's girl isn't a good idea at all," she warned me, as if I didn't know that.

I just sighed, "You're telling me…"

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 3:24 p.m.**

luckyXIII: Rosie? I haven't seen you online in awhile…

paintingwithroses: Yeah… I just hopped on before I go out tonight.

lu: So you've made some more friends?

pwr: Just a couple. I'm only hanging out with one tonight.

lu: Sounds fun

pwr: Should be! My other friend was super grumpy today… I don't know why.

lu: Maybe they were having a bad day?

pwr: Maybe it was cause they made him model in art class.

lu: Yeah, don't blame him then

pwr: I had to model with him, actually… it was kind of weird.

lu: Why was it weird?

pwr: I dunno… it was a kind of intimate pose. Made it really awkward.

lu: Do you like him or something?

pwr: Him? Nooo… we're just friends.

lu: Good, I was about to be jealous. :P

pwr: Haha…

lu: What? Run off and find yourself a boyfriend?

pwr: No

lu: Buttt you like someone?

pwr: Nope

lu: You don't need to lie to me, Rosie

pwr: Why would you think I'm lying?

lu: I dunno. Just have a feeling.

pwr: Well… I did go on a date last night.

lu: Damn, already? Isn't that kind of soon?

pwr: I guess so… but he asked, and I wasn't about to say no.

lu: So you like him?

pwr: Yeah… the date went really well.

lu: Why weren't you going to tell me?

pwr: I think you know, Sammy.

pwr: I didn't want to hurt your feelings.

lu: I mean, it's fine. I understand that there's going to be other people in your life.

pwr: Really…?

lu: Yeah! We're still best friends, Rosie. So tell me about this guy. I need to approve his tact.

pwr: All right…

pwr: Well, he asked me out by putting a dozen red roses in my locker with a little card.

lu: Nice… what did the card say?

pwr: It was silly. :P

pwr: "Roses are red, violets are purple. I like your face. Date me?"

lu: Hahaha

lu: And you said yes?

lu: Wow

pwr: It was cute!

pwr: Besides, he was all excited and I figured I'd give him a chance before I turned him down.

lu: But then you didn't?

pwr: Right. He was actually really sweet on our date. He took me to his family's restaurant and then we saw a movie… At the end of the night we took a walk around town and… it was really sweet.

lu: Did he kiss ya?

pwr: Yeah…

pwr: It was kind of amazing.

pwr: Are you sure you're okay with hearing all of this? I really don't want to hurt your feelings…

lu: It's fine. I actually met someone at school that I kind of have a crush on too.

pwr: Oh? Tell me about her!

lu: Well… she's an artist like you. And she's adorable and sweet and down to Earth…

pwr: Awwww. Cute.

lu: Yeah, but she's taken already.

pwr: Well that sucks! Steal her away then. :P

lu: I couldn't do thattt… The guy she's with is really nice. He doesn't deserve that.

pwr: Well… that blows. But it does make me feel better about this.

pwr: Think we can still be good friends?

lu: I wouldn't want anything else, Rosie.

lu: So are you gonna hang out with him tonight then?

pwr: Ooh, yeah! I should go! Bye!

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 3:52 p.m.**

I logged off of my account and laid down on my bed, sighing heavily. That was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But knowing that she was happy with him was what I needed to hear.

* * *

**August 28, 2014, 9:18 p.m.**

pwr: Sammy! You're still here.

lu: Just got back on, actually. You home now?

pwr: Yeah, he just dropped me off.

lu: What'd you guys do?

pwr: We got Chinese food and ate it as his place, then we started a show on Netflix that we're gonna watch together.

lu: Sounds like a pretty relaxed night. Did you have fun then?

pwr: Oh yeah, definitely. It's like he knows exactly what's gonna make me happy.

lu: You seem smitten

pwr: I kind of am, I guess… When I first met him I was super skeptical. I was actually kind of more interested in his best friend. But then we went out and had a really great time.

lu: His best friend, huh? Dangerous territory.

pwr: Yeah, the one I modeled with. But that was just a passing attraction I think.

pwr: Oh yeah! I almost forgot, I finished your OC! I'll email it, gimme a sec.

lu: Oh my God, it's perfect.

lu: It's exactly how I pictured him.

**August 28, 2014, 9:25 pm.**

* * *

He's me. She drew me, Roxas, because the description I'd given her was so close to how I look in real life. I mean, it's eerily accurate… like looking in a mirror.

It's so hard not to love her.


	5. The Other Side

**Chapter Five**

_Namine_

The Other Side

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 10:15 a.m.**

I nearly flung my phone across the room as my alarm went off again, shattering my dreams and bringing me into the waking world. It was Saturday, and I really didn't want to wake up. It'd been a long week, and I was staying up late with Axel every night.

I should have just slept in… but I knew that if I slept much longer I would regret it in the long run. Tonight was going to be a long night, mainly because Axel was throwing a huge party to celebrate the end of our first week of senior year. It didn't make much sense to me, but I also wasn't a huge party girl either.

Axel seemed incredibly excited, and I couldn't figure out why until I realized that his parents weren't going to be home and there was probably going to be a large amount of alcohol involved.

I was supposed to head over to his place at noon to start getting things ready, so even after my morning shower I had some free time.

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 11:03 a.m.**

paintingwithroses: Sammy! You're up already?

luckyXIII: Yeah… I got somewhere to be at noon.

pwr: That's funny, so do I!

lu: Where are you going?

pwr: Helping my boyfriend get ready for this big party he's throwing.

lu: Party? You hate parties.

pwr: Welll….

pwr: Yeah, kinda.

pwr: But he's really excited, so I'm going to suffer through it.

lu: Wow, you must really like him.

pwr: I really do!

lu: So what's the occasion?

pwr: Huh?

lu: …For the party?

pwr: It's the end of our first week of senior year. I guess he wants to celebrate that it was our last first week ever.

lu: It's kind of a stretch, but it works… You sure he didn't just wanna have a party?

pwr: I think that's pretty much what happened, yeah…

pwr: So how have you been?

lu: I've been fine. I'm just hanging out with a friend later.

pwr: Fun, fun… Did you steal away your girl yet?

lu: Rosie! I already told you I can't do that.

pwr: Ohh the other guy will get over it! You deserve love too!

lu: There's plenty of women for me to be with, I can let this one get away.

pwr: Do you know how often it is that you find your perfect match?

pwr: Hardly ever!

pwr: What if she's the one?

lu: We're in high school, Rosie. I have time.

pwr: She should at least know how you feel.

lu: I told you how I felt and it didn't get me very far.

pwr: Well damn.

pwr: Way to make me feel awful.

lu: You know that's not how I meant it…

pwr: I thought you said you were fine with this.

pwr: You said we could still be friends.

pwr: I'm not going to just sit around waiting for another snide remark.

lu: Rosie! Damn it, just listen to me.

_Message not sent. User is offline._

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 11:37 a.m.**

I couldn't believe that he would say something like that to me. I understand that he had feelings for me, and I know I hurt him when I told him about Axel, but… he promised we would still be friends. That little remark was hurtful, and pretty much just spiteful.

Whatever feelings I'd been having for Sammy were pretty much gone now. Ever since I moved, he'd been more and more distant and irritated. It was almost as if he was trying to push me away, and it was starting to work.

As I was trying to process my anger towards Sammy, my phone started to ring and vibrate obscenely in my pocket, scaring the living daylights out of me. Once I got it pried out of my jeans, I answered, "Hello?"

"What're you wearing to the party tonight?"

I giggled a little, "Hello Yuffie. As I told you in art class before, jeans and a flowy tank top thing."

Yuffie and I had become a little closer in class after I modeled for her, so it didn't surprise me to get a call from her. "Nooo, wear a dress! I'm wearing a dress and I don't wanna be the only one!"

"Right… I'm pretty sure you won't be the only girl there in a dress. He invited the entire senior class."

"Welllll I don't wanna be the only one in our group then!"

I rolled my eyes, chuckling, "I don't even have a dress to wear, Yuffie… unless you mean a sundress and I'm pretty sure you don't."

"I can bring one for you!" she exclaimed, "I have a bunch!"

"What would you ever need a bunch of dresses for?" I wonder, more to myself than her. "Nevermind… If it'll make you feel better, fine. But choose a classy one, please? I don't wanna look like a whore."

She huffed on the other end of the phone, "You think I dress like a whore?!"

She did wear short shorts and a tanktop most days… "Nooo, not at all. But you definitely dress a little more… openly than I do."

"Great! I'm going to bring shoes for you too. You're what, a size 7?"

I raised an eyebrow, "How did you know that?"

"Magic!" she chirped, then hung up the phone.

I don't know what I just got myself into, but I'm a little scared.

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 12:12 p.m.**

"Hey Nami," Axel greeted me at his front door, leaning down and giving me a kiss.

I stepped into his …mansion… and looked around. I'm honestly not sure what kind of preparing this party needed.

"So… I kind of forgot that I needed to get food, and I can't get it on my motorcycle. Come with me to the grocery?" he asked, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"You could have asked me over the phone, weirdo," I teased, poking him in the sides. "Sure, do you wanna go now?"

He nodded, pulling me right back out the door behind him. "Lemme drive, I know where I'm going."

I shrugged and handed him my keys, not really caring either way.

Let me just say, watching Axel attempt to climb into my car was the most hilarious experience of my life. I think he forgot how short I really was, so he got one leg halfway in before getting stuck.

"Shit… Namine, how short are you?!" he exclaimed, struggling to get the seat back so he could get in. I reached under him and flung the seat all the way back, causing him to fall into the car, hitting his head on the doorframe on his way down.

"Are you okay?!" I squeaked, trying to hold back my giggles.

He just grumbled, rubbing his head a little as he situated himself upright.

I got in the passenger's seat, hoping his driving skills weren't too terrifying. I'd never actually been in a car with him before. "What're we getting anyways?"

"Oh, you know… typical party food. Chips, dip, pizza, drinks, candy… all that shit," he told me, driving surprisingly well so far.

"What's it going to be like? I've never really been to a party like this…"

He cocked a brow, "Really? Well, it's pretty much just going to be a bunch of people getting wasted and acting like idiots. …And loud-ass music."

"Sounds… fun?" It really didn't, but who was I to judge?

"Oh it totally is. Trust me, once you're in the moment you'll have a great time."

I shrugged, "I'll take your word for it. I've never really had alcohol either, so it'll certainly be interesting."

"You have no idea, Nami…" he chuckled, seemingly creepily ominous. "We'll get you nice and fucked up."

With the outfit Yuffie was bringing me, I'd probably have to be fucked up just to put it on.

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 4:48 p.m.**

"Fuck, Axel… the ice keeps attacking me!" I squeaked as more ice cubes fell around my feet. We were in his backyard filling up big plastic bins with ice for the booze, which his older (strangely effeminate) cousin Marluxia had dropped off a few minutes earlier.

He grabbed the bag of ice from me and finished filling my buckets, pointing me towards the back gate, "Looks like Yuffie's here early."

I looked up and smiled, running over to her. "Hey! Did you bring my outfit?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I gotta change into mine too… let's go inside!"

"Axel, we're gonna go change in your room!" I yelled to him as he wrestled with a huge hunk of ice.

He grunted …something… in response, so I took her inside and up to his bedroom. It was honestly one of the only rooms I knew how to find in his gigantic house.

"Yuffie, that bag looks awfully light… did you forget one of the dresses?"

She shook her head, dumping it out onto his bed. "Nope, they're both there!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Yuffie, I said to keep it classy…"

She held up a black dress that was covered entirely in lace, and looked like it would fit a small child. "It's totally cute! Guys love lace!"

"I have a guy, Yuffie, and he likes me in jeans."

"Believe me, when Axel sees you in this he's not going to be able to keep his eyes off you," she told me, handing me the slip of fabric.

I rolled my eyes and snatched it from her, stripping down to my bra and panties and shimmying the dress over my head. The lace _was_ pretty, but I could already feel a breeze in places I didn't want one.

"Jeez, help me Yuffie," I struggled, getting it stuck halfway down my arms.

She helped me get it on, and I turned around so she could zip it. "Uhm… you're gonna have to lose the bra, Nami."

I blinked once, not sure if I heard her correctly. "What was that?"

"Your bra? You can't wear one with this dress, the straps will look horrible. Besides, you'll be fine without it. You're perky!" she giggled, unsnapping my bra.

"Fuck, Yuffie, I'm not taking my bra off!" I yelled, but she already had it off of me. With that, she zipped me into the dress and turned me to face his full-length mirror.

I have to admit, it didn't look as bad as I thought it would. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline that plunged a little further down than I would have liked and suctioned my boobs up into my throat. I mean seriously… my cleavage was intense. The rest of the dress was absolutely skin tight and the back of it just barely covered my ass. It was hardly a dress… and it made me feel very uncomfortable.

Suddenly she was shoving a pair of shoes into my hands, a pair of ridiculously high spike heels, black and strappy. "Yuffie, I'm not putting these on… in fact, I'm taking this off as well. I look like a slut," I told her, struggling to find the zipper in the back and failing. "C'mon, help me…"

"Nope! Put the shoes on, Nami. You look hot," she refused, swatting my hands away from the zipper. "Seriously, Axel is gonna love it."

I gave up, knowing this was a battle I was gonna lose. "Fine…" I took the shoes from her, sliding them on and fastening the straps around my ankles.

It had been awhile since I'd worn heels, so my first few steps were very shaky. "I'm gonna kill myself in these things…"

"Too late!" she chirped, already in her own dress. "Zip me!"

I pulled the zipper up on her dress, wondering how I even got it to go up.

"Are you girls ready? People are starting to show up!" I heard Axel shout up the stairs, "Come on, Nami!"

I was about to go downstairs when Yuffie grabbed me by my hair, stopping me short in my tracks. "Ouch! What the hell?!"

"Let me do your hair and makeup really fast. It'll take two seconds, I swear!"

She was pretty accurate. In a couple of minutes, she had my hair in a braided bun on the top of my head, with little curly pieces left down around my face. My eyes were all smokey with grey and black and my lips were blood red. The hair was cute, that I could agree with. The makeup, not so much. "Now go! Your man wants you," she said with a giggle, pushing me out into the hallway.

"Namin-!" Axel stopped short as I appeared at the top of the stairs, looking utterly and completely shocked.

"Did you find her?" Roxas came up behind Axel, stopping in his tracks as well when he saw me. "Is that Namine…?"

Axel blinked once, "I… think so?"

"Yeah, yeah… it's me…" I mumbled, stepping carefully down the stairs.

"Namine, you look… gorgeous," Axel said, pulling me into his arms right away. I actually didn't feel like as much of a midget next to him.

I laughed, leaning into him, "I look ridiculous."

"You look like you need a drink," he told me, chuckling, "Come on."

* * *

**August 30, 2014, 8:47 p.m.**

"Namine… are you okay?" Roxas was staring at me with a strange look on his face.

I nodded, the movement making my head spin, "Fine, why?"

"You seem to have lost a shoe…" he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Did I?" I slurred, tipping over sideways trying to look. Maybe I'd overdone it with the alcohol already… "Well damn… might as well take the other one off too!" I said, tugging at it but failing at getting it off and nearly falling over.

He grabbed my arm, holding me up. "Come sit down on the couch… I'll take it off," he said, pushing me to sit down.

I kicked my leg out, giggling, "I feel like Cinderella! Ooh, are you my prince?"

"That'd be me, dear," I heard Axel's voice behind me as his arms enveloped me from over the back of the couch.

Roxas fought my shoe off and set it aside, looking up at Axel, "Any idea where the other one is?"

"Not a clue… I think I should take this one upstairs," he said, coming around the side of the couch and promptly scooping me up into his arms. "C'mon Nami… it's time to take a nap."

"I dun wanna take a nap!" I whined, struggling in his arms.

Roxas rolled his eyes and walked away, grabbing a shot of whiskey out of someone's hand and downing it.

Axel carried me upstairs to his room, but I was nottt having it. "Axey, I don't wanna go to sleep! I wanna dance!" I giggled, squirming my way out of his arms and falling onto his bed. I immediately, if not clumsily, hopped to my feet and started jumping on his bed, dancing around like a fool.

"Nami, you need to settle down! You're gonna get sick!" he exclaimed, laughing a little.

"No! I don't wanna!" I twirled in a circle, "Get me more of that Fireball stuff… it tastes like candy!"

He climbed up on the bed with me and wrapped me up in his arms, tackling me down onto the bed. I ended up underneath him, with him straddling my hips. "No more alcohol, dear."

"Ohh, no fair," I pouted up at him, wiggling a little.

"Stop that, Nami…" he mumbled, gritting his teeth a little.

I furrowed my brow, "Why? I have too much energy not to wiggle!"

"Don't… do it while I'm on top of you…"

"Why?" I asked again, wiggling around as I struggled to get free.

He groaned a little, shifting his hips, "Just don't! Settle down and relax."

In my drunken mess I didn't understand what he meant, so I continued to squirm and wriggle about. "Just let me go back to the party! I was having fun!"

"You hate parties, Namine… you're drunk," he told me, starting to sound a little frustrated.

I whined, "Well I was wrong."

"Damn it, Nami, stop wiggling!" he yelled, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above my head. He pushed his weight against my lower body, effectively holding me still.

I stared up at him with wide eyes, my drunk self not knowing what to do. He met my eyes, and even through the intoxication I could feel a little jolt of electricity run through my body. Within seconds his lips were on mine in an intense, breathtaking kiss that nearly brought me back to sobriety on it's own.

I kissed him back, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I came back to reality and realized what was happening. "Axel…" I mumbled against his lips, trying to pull away.

He yanked his head back and stared down at me with a strange fire in his eyes. "What?"

"Just… you're hurting me…" I whispered, my hands starting to go numb.

Axel tore his hands away from my wrists, holding himself up on the bed now, "Sorry," he bit out, clenching his jaw.

"It's okay…" I stretched my wrists out a little, looking up at him again.

"You look so sexy, Namine…" he mumbled, his eyes traveling down my body. I hadn't realized before how drunk he actually was… apparently he was a bit higher functioning than me.

I squirmed a little bit, still pinned beneath his weight. "I disagree... I look like a whore."

"Same difference," he laughed, leaning down to kiss me again. I turned my head to escape it, but he just kissed down my neck instead.

"Axe, why don't we go back down to the party? I'm feeling much better," I told him, starting to get really uncomfortable.

He continued to kiss along my neck, stopping at my ear, "Why? We could have so much more fun right here…"

"I would really rather go downstairs…" I told him again, but it wasn't as if he was hearing me. His hands slipped under my body and I felt him starting to slide the zipper of my dress down. "Axel, stop it…"

"What, you need more booze? Just relax and lay back, babe…" he whispered in my ear in a low, sultry voice.

I struggled against him, whimpering a little, "Axel, I'm not joking… We need to go back to the party now."

"Don't be like that… I know you feel the spark between us…"

"Yeah, but not like this! Just get off me, Axel!" I was yelling now, struggling more as he became more persistent. He was acting completely out of character, and I knew it was the alcohol… but it was scaring me. When he suddenly pulled the entire top of my dress down, I shrieked. "Axel! Get off me!"

All at once I felt his weight lifted off of me, and relief flooded over my body. That is, until I saw what was happening in front of me.

Roxas had snatched him off me and just about threw him across the room. "What the fuck are you doing, Axel?! Do you not hear her screaming?!"

I scrambled quickly to grab a blanket and cover myself while Axel tried to regain his composure. "Get the fuck out of here, Roxas… this is none of your business."

"Right, so I'm just supposed to let you take advantage of the poor girl?" Roxas countered, getting up in his face. "Go downstairs. I'm taking Namine home."

"Like hell!" Axel shouted, shoving Roxas backwards. "She's fine! We were just having fun!"

Roxas smirked and looked over at me, "Is that true? Tell me you were having fun with him and I'll leave."

I was speechless. I didn't know how to respond to him… I was so grateful for him stepping in, but I could see this escalating very quickly. "Axel… I think it's time for me to go home."

"See? She doesn't want to stay," Roxas said, standing in between Axel and I. "Go back to the party."

In a blur of movement, Roxas was sent reeling back into the bed and nearly into my lap. I screeched, scrambling to see if he was alright, but he was already back on his feet. "I didn't wanna do this, Axe…" he growled before punching Axel square in the face, dropping him to the ground like it was nothing. He turned to me immediately, apparently not noticing the blood pouring from the corner of his mouth. "Are you okay, Namine?"

I nodded, trying to comprehend everything that had just happened. I don't know if I was still drunk or if I was maybe in shock, but I could not wrap my mind around it. "I… I'm fine… can you zip my dress back up…?"

He moved behind me and pulled the dress back into place before starting to slide the zipper up slowly. His fingers brushed against my skin softly, sending chills down my spine as I turned to face him. "Th..thank you.."

"We should go… he's not going to be happy when he comes to," Roxas said, pulling me to my feet. "Are these your shoes?" he asked, locating my flats from earlier in the corner along with my jeans and tank top. I nodded and he grabbed them, giving me the shoes to put on. "I think you would have looked even better just wearing this…" he mumbled, pulling me out of Axel's bedroom and downstairs.

"Rox, you're bleeding… are you okay…?" I asked him as he yanked me out of the still booming party.

He ignored my question, "Where's your car? I walked here."

"It's out front… I parked on the street so I could get out when I wanted to leave."

My keys fell out of the pocket of my jeans and he kept them, guiding me into the passenger's seat. "You'll have to give me directions…"

"Hang on a second… let me just look at your face," I begged him, trying to see anything in the dark.

"When we get to your house…" he said, turning away from me and starting the car.

* * *

**August 31, 2014, 10:24 p.m.**

I was lucky my parents weren't home when we got there… they were visiting some family from the area. Roxas parked and got out, helping me up and walking me inside.

"Here, sit down…" I told him, pulling him into the kitchen. I got a washcloth and wet it with warm water, trying to get rid of the already dried blood around his mouth and find the source of the new blood. "Roxas… your lips are split in like four places… and I think your gums are bleeding…"

He shrugged, "He caught me right in the mouth. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure you're okay…? I can take you to the emergency room, you might need stitches," I continued to dab at the wounds, but they kept on bleeding.

Suddenly his hand was clasped over mine, and he pressed the washcloth to his mouth, "Needs pressure," he mumbled through it, moving to replace my hand with his own.

"Do you want some ice? That's going to swell soon…" I fussed, unable to let well enough alone.

Roxas just shook his head, "I should go… Are you sure you're alright?"

"Rox… you just drove me blocks away from Axel's, where you said you walked to. Deductive reasoning says you don't live anywhere near here," I said, raising a brow, "You should stay here tonight. My parents are out for the weekend and it's the least I can do after you saved me."

He shook his head, pulling the washcloth away to talk, "I couldn't do that, Namine… I can walk, it's really not that far."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you walk out of here tonight, Roxas… stay the night and I'll take you home tomorrow," I repeated, not willing to let this go. "I… I'm still shaken up from earlier. Please keep me company…"

He cocked a brow, totally not falling for it, "All right… I guess I'll stay. But hey, what is this going to mean for you and Axel?"

I hadn't even thought about it. "I… I have no idea… I mean, I know it was the alcohol, and I feel like I might have done some kind of stupid things to make the situation worse. I'll need to talk to him… a lot… but I'm hoping we can blame the booze and move forward."

"After all of that… after him nearly… Namine, he almost raped you. And you're telling me you can just move past that?"

It seemed incredulous when he said it, but something in me wanted things to work out. "Like I said… I'll just need to talk to him."


	6. Blackout

**Chapter Six**

_Roxas_

Blackout

* * *

**August 31, 2014, 9:37 a.m.**

My eyes fluttered open and for a moment I didn't realize where I was. The walls were peach… my room is definitely blue. It took me a minute, but I did eventually remember that I was in Namine's guest room. I went to yawn and nearly screamed in pain as my lips started to crack and split again.

Right. Axel got in a good swing last night.

"Fuck…" I groaned, my head spinning as I sat up in the unfamiliar bed. My spine was stiff from the hardly used mattress, and I definitely had a hangover. How much had I had to drink last night? I remembered a couple of shots of whiskey… but I drove Namine home so I must not have been totally wasted…

And if I was, I must have sobered up when I saw Axel attacking the poor girl.

"Roxas…?" I heard the tiniest little voice cut through the silence. I looked to the doorway and saw Namine in her cute little pajamas, just a pair of cotton shorts and a tanktop, yawning and blinking her eyes. "Oh good… you're up…"

I swung my feet over to stand up, but my body didn't seem to want to, "Barely… how are you doing…?"

It was then that my eyes settled on the huge black and blue bruises on her wrists. "I… I'm fine…" she said, slipping her hands behind her back and shifting awkwardly on her feet. "Uhm… would you like some breakfast? I mean, I can just drive you home now if you want, or you can hang out for awhile…"

Right… my car is still at home. "Breakfast sounds good… but come here first. Can we just talk for a second?"

She sat down gingerly on the side of the bed next to me, "What's up?"

"I'm… worried about you…" I started, sighing heavily. "I've known that Axel gets a bit aggressive when he's drunk for awhile now, but I never thought that he would try something like this."

"But… it's just when he's drunk, right?" she asked, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Like… he wouldn't have done that if he knew better?"

I tried to find the right words to explain it, "Nami… it's not that simple. He might have lacked judgement, but Axel stays pretty coherent when he's drunk. He knew what he was doing."

"I don't think so," she shook her head, "Axel is so sweet and harmless…"

"Namine, what do you think would have happened if I hadn't found you?" Apparently I was gonna have to go with tough love.

She thought for a minute, "Well, I—"

"He was going to rape you," I cut her off. "He's much, much stronger than you and he had no self control."

"You're wrong… he would have stopped… he would have—"

I grabbed her hands (gently) and lifted her wrists up to her line of sight, "Look at yourself… He did this to you, Namine."

She snatched her arms away from me, standing up with tears beginning to flood her eyes. "You're wrong! Axel would never do that to me! I need to give him a chance to explain himself! God, some best friend you are! Give him a fucking chance!"

I lifted myself to my feet, trying not to wobble and ruin my stance, "Best friend or not, I would gladly knock him on his ass again. Don't give me a reason to, please. Just stay away from him."

"I think it's time for you to go home, Roxas. I'm going to get dressed and we're leaving," she said in a flat tone, marching out of the guest room.

God damn it… I had been planning that speech all night in my head. Axel was my best friend… and I never thought that he would do something like this, but if this was who he really was, we were both better off without him.

I cringed when I heard a familiar voice float up the stairs, "Namine? Are you home…?"

I stepped out of the guest room and glared down at Axel, who had the expression on his face of a kicked puppy. "What the fuck? I asked him simply.

"Roxas, you gotta give me a chance to explain!" he exclaimed, sporting a lovely black eye.

"You were drunk, right? You didn't know what you were doing? Is that about the gist?"

He nodded, "Seriously, I don't even know what happened! Someone told me you went looking for me and then they saw you dragging Namine out of the house like ten minutes later! What the hell did I do?!"

"Oh, so you don't remember? How convenient," I said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "Grow the fuck up and take responsibility for your bullshit."

"Roxas, I don't remember what happened," he said, then noticed my (likely bruised and bleeding) face, his expression changing to surprise, "Did we get into a fight, Rox? Were you the one that knocked me out?"

Namine appeared beside me in a flash of blonde, running down the stairs to Axel. "Axel, I'm so sorry… I know it wasn't your fault… we'd both been drinking so much…"

"Namine, I don't remember what happened," he told her, keeping her at a distance. "Can someone please tell me? I blacked out…"

She looked up at me, as if she thought I should tell him. "Me? Oh sure, I'll spin you a tale." I walked downstairs and stared Axel down, which was not-so-surprisingly difficult from a foot lower. "I went looking for you because you took Namine upstairs to try to get her to settle down, but you didn't come back for like twenty minutes. I wanted to make sure you were both okay, but then I walked in on you about to rape her."

Both of them cringed when I said the word "rape," and rightfully so. "Fuck… Namine, did I really…?"

She nodded, holding out her wrists to show him. "I… I tried to tell you no…"

Axel looked absolutely horrified. Did he really not remember what he did? "Nami… I am so sorry…" he whispered, barely able to get his words out. "I… I would never…"

"I know, Axel…" she said, wrapping him in a hug, "I know… It's okay."

He pushed her away, unable to wipe the look of horror off of his face. "I need to go… I shouldn't be around you." He rushed out the front door, but Namine and I followed him.

"Axel, wait! Can't we just talk?!" she shouted from the porch as he put his helmet on and got on his bike. But he was gone before he even heard her.

She lingered on the porch for a moment, watching him speed away with a look of concern on her face. I stayed behind her, about to turn and go inside when I heard the most sickening sound of metal hitting metal and bodies hitting pavement. Namine shrieked and crumbled to the ground, immediately sobbing and unable to speak.

I ran to the end of the driveway, trying to put together the scene before my eyes. In his distress, Axel had missed the stop sign at the end of her road and a car had plowed into him from the side.

Namine looked like she couldn't even stand up, much less go over there, so I took off at a sprint to the end of her street. The driver was trying to get out of his car, and I could visibly see him trembling. "I… I didn't even see him… I had the right of way…"

Axel was laying in the middle of the intersection, his bike splayed out next to him smoking a little. He wasn't moving… I felt like my heart was about to stop as I approached him and kneeled down. "Axel… Axe, are you okay?"

No response. My breath caught up in my throat as I reached to pull his helmet off, gently setting his head down. I know you aren't supposed to move people when they're hurt, but I needed to try and wake him up. His helmet was cracked all the way up the back where his head hit the pavement. Even just the sight of that crack made my stomach churn. I glanced back at Namine, but she hadn't moved at all.

"Axel… talk to me, buddy…" I rested my hand over her chest to see if he was breathing, or if his heart was even still beating. He was alive… "Axel…"

I could hear the driver of the car on the phone with the police trying to explain what happened. They would be on their way any minute… I needed to remember that.

I tried to assess any further damage without moving him. Blood was pooling under his back from somewhere, and his leather jacket was shredded where he'd slid across the pavement. His left arm looked like it was in bad shape… it might have even been broken or dislocated at the shoulder.

My eyes moved lower to his right leg, which had been on the side of the bike that made impact with the car. It looked absolutely destroyed. It had to have been broken in multiple places.

I looked back at Namine as I heard the sirens getting closer. She was still frozen. It was then that I rememebered her sister. Kairi had died in a car accident not even 4 months ago. I needed to go to her… but I couldn't leave Axel either.

In another minute, the paramedics were there peeling him off the pavement. A police officer approached me, while another one questioned the driver.

"Sir, were you in the car as well?" he asked me, pulling out a little notebook.

"No, no… I was at my friend's house, right there," I said, pointing to Namine. "The biker had just left from her house. He was… upset, and he ran the stop sign."

He scribbled something down, "Can you give me his name and age please?"

"Axel DiRosa… he's 19. His license is in his wallet. It should be in his pocket."

"We'll get it at the hospital, we don't believe he's a flight risk in his current condition."

I swallowed hard, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't have that information for you. Now, we can either impound his bike or move it to your friend's driveway. What would you prefer?"

I shook my head, "No, take it to her driveway. They won't mind. Is it completely wrecked?"

"I'm not a mechanic, son. If it rolls, we'll move it. If not, we'll have to send someone out. They're taking him to the hospital now if you'd like to head over. We'll get the rest of our information when he wakes up."

My heart was pounding out of my chest and I gave him a small nod, "Thank you officer… We'll go now."

It took everything I had to get my legs to move towards Namine. Her entire body was shaking and it looked like she had no more tears left to cry. "Nami… we need to go to the hospital now."

She remained speechless, her eyes trained on the floor. I sighed and wrapped her up in my arms, lifting her off of the ground carefully. I took her to her car and set her down in the passenger's seat. "Where are your keys, Namine?"

Again, no answer.

"I'll go find them…" I went back into her house, thankfully finding her keys still sitting on the kitchen table from last night. I locked her house up, getting into the car with her and starting it. "It's going to be okay, Namine… he's alive. He was breathing."

It broke my heart to see her like this, and so soon after the loss of her sister. And Axel… no matter what stupid shit he'd done when he was drunk, I would never wish this on him. I just wanted to see him alive and okay.

He needed to stay alive.

* * *

**August 31, 2014, 5:48 p.m.**

It had been hours since Axel was brought in, and nobody had really given us much of an update. All we knew was that he was in surgery. Namine was on her phone typing away and I could feel my pocket vibrating. I knew she was messaging Sammy… but if I answered her now, she would know who I was.

"Namine… do you want something to eat?" I asked her again. She had finally come back to reality, but she was still pretty unresponsive.

"No… I couldn't stomach anything…" she mumbled, still typing on her phone.

I felt my pocket vibrate a few more times and decided to check it.

* * *

paintingwithroses: Sammy I need you…

pwr: I need you so bad…

pwr: My boyfriend wrecked his motorcycle

pwr: He's in surgery

pwr: I feel like my heart is about to stop

pwr: When my sister went into surgery, she never came out…

pwr: I can't do this…

pwr: I'm sitting here with his best friend and… I just wanna hug him but I feel like it'd be weird…

pwr: I need someone that understands…

* * *

My heart leapt up into my throat as I read her messages, and I put my phone back in my pocket, standing and moving over to the seat right next to her. Without a word, I pulled her into my arms and just held her. She was tense at first, but she relaxed quickly into the hug and just let it happen.

"Thank you…" she whispered, moving to get more comfortable before settling against me.

"I… I know about your sister," I told her softly, "Uhm… Axel told me. Are you okay…?"

She let out a little sigh, "I'm anything but okay… Kairi… she was in surgery for this long, and… it wasn't good news…"

"He's going to be okay, Namine… Axel is a fighter. And he was still breathing when I found him. That's a good sign," I tried to comfort her, but I was just as worried myself.

"I can't go through this again… It's too hard…" she sniffled a little, wiping tears from her eyes.

I leaned down to rest my head on top of hers, holding her close. "Just close your eyes and relax… try to breathe."

She relaxed for a few moments, but then pulled her phone out again. Of course, every message she sent to Sammy made my pocket vibrate. "Roxas, your phone is ringing. Is someone calling you?"

I tried to stay calm as I pulled my phone back out of my pocket, looking at the screen. "Nah, just a message."

"Oh… okay…" she said, resuming her typing. I had to message her back… I turned my phone on silent and held it above her head so she wouldn't see my replying.

* * *

paintingwithroses: I wish you would answer…

pwr: I'm really worried…

luckyXIII: Rosie?

lu: Damn… that really sucks… are you okay?

pwr: Not at all…

pwr: I can hardly breathe.

lu: Is he going to make it?

pwr: I wish I knew. He's still in surgery.

pwr: Sammy I feel like my heart is about to stop.

lu: It'll be okay, Rosie… I was there for you with your sister and I'll be there for you now.

pwr: I need you here for real… I don't know what to do right now.

lu: Rosie…

* * *

My heart must have stopped beating or something because Namine looked up at me. "Are you okay, Roxas?"

"Hmm?" I tried to play it off, locking my phone screen.

"You stopped breathing for a minute…" she said in her soft, sweet little voice.

I chuckled a little, "Sorry… I think I nodded off…"

"Oh… okay…" she mumbled, sticking her nose back in her phone.

* * *

paintingwithroses: I'm sorry I was so mad at you before…

pwr: It seems so silly now…

pwr: When all of this happened, all I wanted to do was talk to you…

luckyXIII: It's okay… I was being a jerk. I was just… more upset than I let on that you found a boyfriend.

lu: But I never wanted anything like this to happen…

pwr: You still have feelings for me?

lu: Rosie, I've been in love with you for months now…

pwr: I wish things were different… I wish we'd gotten our chance to be together.

lu: You aren't happy with your boyfriend?

pwr: No, I am… but I still wish we'd had a chance in hell at all.

lu: Yeah… me too. So what happened with his accident?

pwr: It's a really, really long story…

pwr: Last night, we both got really drunk, and…

pwr: Well…

pwr: He tried some things that I didn't want to do…

lu: What?

pwr: I hate the word…

lu: Fuck, Rosie… did he really try to…?

pwr: Yeah… but it wasn't his fault! We were so wasted… he didn't even remember. His best friend saved me and drove me home that night.

pwr: But this morning he showed up wondering why he looked like he'd been in a fight, and… when we told him what happened he ran outside and got on his bike. He must have been really upset about it, because he ran a stop sign and got hit by a car.

lu: Wait, so are you breaking up with him?

pwr: No…

pwr: You didn't see his face, Sammy… he honestly had no idea what he'd done.

pwr: He looked absolutely horrified.

lu: You can't stay with him, Rosie… how can you even forgive him after that?

pwr: I've got to give him a second chance… that is, if he survives this.

lu: He'll make it… he has you to wake up to.

* * *

As if on cue I saw a doctor approaching us. Namine sat up looking hopeful, and I straightened up in my seat.

"Are you two here for Axel?" she asked us. I nodded, and she smiled. "He's going to be all right. We had some trouble setting his leg, but he should be able to walk again."

The sigh of relief coming from us could have been heard down the hall. "Oh thank God… when can we see him?"

"A lot of his body was covered in burns from sliding on the pavement, so right now his skin is incredibly sensitive and prone to infection. We would like to wait at least until tomorrow to have him see anybody. He's still under sedation, so he'll likely sleep through the night anyways. Are you his family?"

"I'm his girlfriend, and this is his best friend. We called his parents awhile ago, but they're stuck out of town right now," Namine said, seeming entirely relaxed now.

The doctor nodded, "I would advise you to go home and get some rest so you can come see him tomorrow, but I understand if you'd like to see him now."

"Could we?" she asked, looking excited.

"I'll send someone to redress his wounds, and then you can come see him. I need to warn you though… he had some head trauma. We did a cat scan and couldn't find anything wrong, but there's a chance of some minor memory loss when he wakes up. We're going to continue to monitor him to make sure there isn't a brain bleed or anything else going on, but for now all we can do is wait and see."

I stared at her for a moment, "So… there's a chance he could not remember us?"

"It's highly unlikely, but yes… with the type of trauma he's experienced, there's a chance of some memory loss."

"Oh God…" Namine whispered, her eyes welling up with tears again. "Please let us know as soon as we can see him."

"I'll let you know as soon as possible. Like I said, he may sleep through the night because of the sedation," she told us, giving Namine a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I know all of this is scary and confusing, but try to stay hopeful. Axel will need a strong support system through his recovery."

I grabbed Namine's hand and squeezed it, "He'll have one."

* * *

**September 1, 2014, 12:08 a.m.**

paintingwithroses: I'm in his room now… he's still asleep, but he's going to be okay.

luckyXIII: I'm so glad to hear, Rosie…

pwr: I feel like ten tons of weight was just lifted off my chest. I can finally breathe again.

lu: I'm sure… Have you eaten anything yet?

pwr: No… the hospital cafeteria is closed now.

lu: Oh… Is his friend still there?

pwr: Yeah, he's in the corner on his phone. I don't think either of us are going to sleep much tonight.

lu: Ask him to run and get you guys food?

pwr: Oh I couldn't ask him that… He's done so much for me already.

pwr: I was wrong about him.

lu: Wrong about him? Howso?

pwr: When I first met him I kind of thought he was a jerk. He was always in a bad mood and it made it hard to be around him. But ever since he saved me last night… he's been nothing but sweet and supportive.

lu: Maybe he had something personal going on…

pwr: That's what I think happened. My boyfriend told me that he wasn't usually in such a shitty mood.

lu: Well, maybe things will be different now.

pwr: I think they will. He and I have bonded a lot over the past couple days.

lu: Good. Now go get some food!

pwr: All right… good night, Sammy.

lu: Night, Namine.

_Message not sent. User is offline._

* * *

**September 1, 2014, 12:32 p.m.**

My heart nearly stopped in my chest when I realized that I called her Namine in my message. Thank the Gods in heaven that she logged off before she could see it. That was so, so close.

"Uh… Nami, I'm getting kinda hungry. Want me to go pick up some food for us?" I asked her, trying to speak softly incase Axel woke up.

She nodded, "I was just about to ask you the same thing… Is there anywhere open this late?"

"Fast food… want a burger and some fries?"

"Ooh! Yes please!" she chirped, sitting up in her chair. "Do they have milkshakes?"

I chuckled lowly, finding her absolutely adorable. "Sure… lemme guess, chocolate?"

"Yes pleaseeee," she sang, grinning like a cat. "Let me get you some money… Do you still have my keys?"

I shook my head, "I'll buy, don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Roxas… you're a lifesaver. Literally."

At least I had reconciled things with her as Sammy… now I just had to show her that I'm not a complete jerk as Roxas.


	7. Everything

**Chapter Seven**

_Namine_

Everything

* * *

**September 1, 2014, 8:19 a.m.**

I don't think I slept for more than 5 minutes at a time through the night, and most of my food remained untouched. Dinner had sounded good initially, but when Roxas actually came back I had no appetite left. I could see him shifting around in the uncomfortable chair in the corner, and I knew he hadn't slept a wink either.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a low groan sound from Axel's bed. He was awake… finally.

"Fuck…" he mumbled as I rushed to his side. "What happened…?"

"Axel… you were in an accident…" I told him, "You wrecked your bike… don't try to move."

Roxas perked up and came to his other side, "Axe… buddy, you can't scare us like that…"

"I… hurt…" he said softly, looking up at both of us. "I don't remember anything…"

"You know who we are, right?" Roxas asked him, looking worried.

He nodded a little, "Yeah… but the last few days are kinda fuzzy…"

"What's the last thing you remember?" I wondered, taking his hand in mine.

"Putting the ice out for the party… everything after that is just black. Nothing."

I looked up at Roxas and saw him about to open his mouth, so I yanked him by the arm into the hallway, "Be right back, Axel…"

Roxas pulled his arm away from me, "What the hell?!"

"Do. Not. Tell him. Don't tell him about that night. He doesn't need to know. If he remembers on his own someday, whatever. You will not tell him what he did."

"Namine…"

"No!" I cut him off, "Axel deserves a second chance. Don't say a word, Roxas."

He grumbled a little, then nodded. "Fine… I won't say anything. But Namine, I really think you should be honest with him."

"Noted," I said, heading back into his room. "How're you feeling, sweetie?"

"Can you get the doctor in here? I'd kind of like to know what happened…" he said, "And raise my bed so I can sit up a little?"

I took the little remote and lifted him into a sitting position, pressing the button to call the nurse. She came in shortly and I asked her to let the doctor know he's awake.

"I'll send Dr. Mavers right in."

All of the doctor speak went right over my head, but basically it was going to be a long road to recovery for Axel. He would need a lot of therapy to walk again, and he might need skin grafts to cover his road rash. He wouldn't be able to return to school right away, but he could keep up with his classes online.

Axel needed me more than ever right now… he needed both of us.

* * *

**TIME JUMP: December 23, 2014, 4:43 p.m.**

I wrapped my arms around Axel, giving him a big hug from behind. "Having fun?"

"Of course I am, darling," he smiled at me, turning in his wheelchair to face me. "It's almost Christmas, and I'm going to be out of this chair soon. Plus, I'm with you. Couldn't be any happier."

I leaned down and gave him a kiss before standing up and smoothing down my little red dress. His parents were throwing a huge Christmas party with a ton of their friends and business associates and they let Axel have a few friends over as well. It was definitely classier than Axel's last party, though I was sipping on some champagne.

"Roxas!" he exclaimed, his stronger than ever best friend approaching us in a snazzy red dress shirt and black dress pants. He even had a cute black tie. "You made it! I'm so glad you showed up."

"I wouldn't miss the chance to spend Christmas with you, man!" Roxas exclaimed, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "When're you getting out of this thing anyways?"

Axel groaned, rolling his eyes, "Like… three more weeks or some bullshit. They still don't think I'm strong enough to put weight on my leg."

"I mean, the thing is practically bionic with all the steel they used to rebuild your skeleton," I joked, "Shouldn't you have like superpowers or something?"

He swatted at me, "I fuckin wish… this wheelchair is fucking bullshit. I've been sleeping on the couch for months."

Roxas snagged a couple of glasses of champagne from one of the waiters (yes, waiters) and handed Axel a glass. "Let's toast to Axel's health. He's finally coming to the end of a long road."

"Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves… I still need to learn how to walk again," he mentioned, but he held his glass up anyways, "Ah, what the hell… to me!"

We all clinked our glasses together, giving a little cheer.

Things since the accident have been… weird, to say in the least. Without having Axel at school for the past few months, I'd really bonded with Roxas. He wasn't a jerk anymore, and he seemed like he was always in a good mood now. Honestly, we've become nothing short of best friends.

Axel did come back to school last month when his burns finally healed properly, and it just made every day a bit brighter. His goofy presence, even from a wheelchair, was something unique and adorable that seemed to make everyone around him smile.

"So what're you two doing for Christmas?" Roxas asked us, sitting down on the couch next to me so we could talk with Axel on his level.

"Well, Christmas day is reserved for my parents, but I was hoping we could have a quiet little Christmas Eve together at my place," I said, grabbing Axel's hand. I had a big surprise for him… And I'd checked with his doctors to make sure I could give it to him.

Roxas smiled, "That's wonderful… I'm going to be with my grandparent's house on Christmas Eve and my parents on Christmas day."

"Sounds fun!" I chirped, leaning into him playfully. "Ooh… I see appetizers. Be right back."

I got up to search for some food, but something vibrated in the pocket of my dress.

* * *

luckyXIII: Merry Christmas, Rosie.

paintingwithroses: Aww, hey.

pwr: Merry Christmas Sammy.

lu: You at that big party?

pwr: Yeah, it's actually really fun.

lu: I bet you look fantastic in that red dress…

pwr: I never told you my dress was red…

lu: Lucky guess? It is Christmas.

pwr: All right, weirdo… Hmmm… lemme guess, are you in green?

lu: Nope! Red shirt, black tie. Switching it up.

pwr: Funny, that's what my friend is wearing.

pwr: Are you sureeeee we don't know each other?

pwr: Cause you're an awful lot like Roxas.

lu: Oooh, he has a name.

lu: What if I wasss this Roxas guy?

pwr: Well that'd be awkward as fuck. I'm about to bang his best friend.

lu: You're gonna sleep with him?

pwr: Tomorrow night… it's his Christmas surprise.

lu: Can he even…?

pwr: I already talked to his doctors. He's cleared.

lu: Well damn. Have fun I guess.

pwr: See why you wouldn't wanna be Roxas? Haha

lu: Well yeah, that would suck what with my lovin on you and all.

pwr: You're so strange, Sammy… I don't get how you can listen to me yammer on about Axel all the time and still be in love with me.

lu: The heart wants what it wants. Now get back to your party!

pwr: Merry Christmas, weirdo.

lu: And a Happy New Year, doll.

* * *

I realized when I slid my phone into my pocket how long I'd just been standing in the corner texting like a creep. Axel and Roxas probably thought I'd died or something. I grabbed a plate of food quickly and went back into the living room with them.

"Oh thank God you're back," Axel said, snatching some food from my plate. "Roxas had his nose in his phone the whole time you were gone."

"I'm checking my Facebook! I've got like twenty Merry Christmas messages!" he defended himself, putting his phone away.

I shook my head, "It's still two days till Christmas!"

"Yeah, but people get too busy to send them tomorrow and the next day. Either way, I'm done now," Roxas said, sticking his tongue out at Axel. "You're not getting a message."

"That's a bunch of bullshit anyways. I can tell you Merry Christmas in person right now! You've always been so into the internet… human interaction is so much better."

I giggled a little. He did have a point. Ever since I started dating Axel I spent less and less time on the internet. He kept me so busy that I honestly didn't even have time. I could barely message Sammy anymore.

Sammy… things have been weird with him lately. He's still in love with me, yet he almost begs to hear details about Axel. He's either insane or masochistic, and I can't figure out which it is. I mean, we've stayed good friends, but… I can feel us drifting a little.

"Roxas, Namine… I just wanted to say something to both of you while we're together," Axel said suddenly, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You two have been with me through everything… through the painful skin grafts, the multiple leg surgeries, even at school when everyone was staring at me like I was a freak. Hell, I kind of feel like I'm dating both of you. I guess I just want to say… thanks. I don't think I would have made it this far without you two."

"I… I think I'm going to be sick…" Roxas suddenly leapt to his feet, running to the upstairs bathroom away from the party.

Axel gave me a confused look, which I sent right back to him, "I'll go make sure he's okay…"

"Yeah… Roxas never gets sick. Maybe it was the food."

* * *

**December 23, 2014, 5:29 p.m.**

"Roxas…? Are you okay?" I asked as I approached the bathroom door. It was cracked, and all I could hear was him swearing under his breath.

"Go away, Namine… I'm fine," he said, splashing his face with cool water.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind me. "Do you need to talk about something?"

He was silent for a long moment, and then he exploded with anxiety, "I can't do this anymore… I can't keep lying. I thought… I thought I could make it work, but…"

"Roxas, you gotta fill me in here," I cut him off, trying to get him to look at me.

"I… Namine, I'm Sammy," he said, his voice trembling.

I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach. "Please repeat that."

"It's me, Rosie. It's Sammy. I… I've been lying to you this entire time…"

My brain didn't seem to want to process this. "You… but… it's been months… You… How long have you known?!" I shrieked, whacking him on the arm.

"Fuck, Nami! I've known since the beginning…"

"You helped Axel ask me out! Why would you do that when we could have been together?"

He sighed heavily, "I didn't know until you'd already gone on a date with him. And then I couldn't bring myself to tell you. He was so happy… You were so happy… I couldn't ruin that for you guys."

"This whole time… Roxas, how could you do that to me? I loved Sammy. I… I loved you."

He froze completely for a moment, as if he was stuck in time. "You did…?" he managed to force out, leaning back against the sink.

"Well yeah, you moron. You knew that," I told him, huffing a little.

"You never actually said it…"

I laughed, throwing my hands up in the air, "I loved you! There, I said it!"

In a split second, Roxas has me backed against the wall with his lips on mine in the most intense, passionate, loving kiss I've ever experienced. Every thought in my head is screaming to throw him off, scream and run to Axel, but every beat of my heart urges me to kiss him back.

My heart wins my battle and I give in to his kiss, wrapping my arms around him and giving a soft little moan. That only seemed to spur him on more, and he deepened the kiss further. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it, and for a moment, Axel had completely left my mind.

"Namine, I love you…" he whispered, pulling away for just a moment. "I've always loved you."

I felt tears running down my face… when had I started crying? "Roxas… You know I can't be with you… This would break Axel's heart. I… I can't…"

He pulled me into his arms, and I could tell he was starting to cry as well. "I know, Namine… That's why I didn't tell you all this time."

"You let me fall for someone else just to protect your best friend… Roxas, you are the most selfless person I know," I marveled, still trying to comprehend everything. "I… I can't wrap my mind around this…"

He let go of me, sighing heavily again, "So you've officially fallen for Axel, huh?"

"I… was going to tell him I love him tomorrow night…" I admitted, looking down at my feet.

"I have horrible timing… Uhm… that kiss meant nothing. It was an act of insanity and nothing else. Go be happy with Axel… I'll step down as Sammy and just be your friend Roxas."

He was breaking my heart a little bit, but he was right… I needed to move forward and be with Axel. I had fallen for Sammy so long ago… He had always been like this little fairy tale in the back of my mind. Roxas was my best friend now, and Axel… I really felt like there was something strong between us. If there was any hope of Roxas and I ever being together… it was long gone now.

It felt like the closing of a book… like a new chapter of my life was about to begin. I needed that kiss. I needed to kiss Sammy once so that I could start over without that constant nagging wonder in the back of my mind.

I turned to leave the bathroom, but something inside of me made me stop. "Just so you know… that kiss meant everything."

_Message not sent. Profile has been deleted._


	8. Afterword

**Afterword**

_EtherealLove15_

Thank You for Reading

* * *

Hello everybody. :) I refrained from leaving Author's Notes throughout the story because it meant a lot to me to keep the story clean and compelling. Now that I have officially finished Mistake Me, I feel like I can write you all a little message.

I understand that Mistake Me came to a bit of an abrupt and unsatisfying end, but that was exactly how I intended it. It might shock all of you to hear this, but Roxas and Namine were never going to be together. I knew it in my gut when I started writing. A lot of you may hate me for that, but I needed to be true to myself with this one.

When I added the chapter with Axel's accident, it became clear to me where the story had to end. Rather than string you all along through his painful recovery, I chose to skip in time to the big reveal... something I know you've all been waiting for. I feel like I'm going to get a lot of hate for cutting out so much time... but I did it for a reason. I felt like it was time for that closure. It just... felt like the end to me.

So, did my tale of love found and lost tug at anyone else's heart? Because I'm certainly sitting here feeling like my heart weighs a million pounds in my chest. Please keep reviewing, because your reviews are what keep me writing.

I'm already working on a new story as we speak, so don't think this is the last you've heard from me! This one is going to be a tale of just the most insane, crazy love that you've ever seen. It actually might be another AxelxNamine story, because after writing Mistake Me, I kind of love that pairing.

I love you all. :) Don't kill me for the ending please!

Update! I know that I officially ended the story, but I'm taking it back! I tossed and turned all night over this one, so I'm going to be writing an epilogue. Keep an eye out. :)


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Happily Ever After

* * *

**October 12, 2027, 4:48 p.m.**

"Mommy, where are we going?" a tiny little voice sounded from the backseat.

"Well you two are going to go play with Kairi. Doesn't that sound fun?" her mother answered her, smiling a little.

The small girl squealed in delight, "Ooh, I love playing with Kairi! Is Axel gonna be there?!"

"No, no honey. Axel is coming out with mommy and daddy."

She pouted a little, huffing, "Riku isn't as fun as Axel…"

Namine couldn't hold back a giggle, "Rosie, honey… that's not a nice thing to say."

"He pays more attention to Sammy than me!" she whined, "Just 'cause Sammy is a dumb baby…"

"Be nice to your brother, Rosie!" her father scolded her, peeking back at her in the rear-view mirror. "Besides, Riku isn't going to be with you either."

She leaned forward in her carseat, waiting on edge to hear who she'd be torturing in tandem with Kairi that night. "Who is then?!"

"Ohhh just your favorite person in the worlddd," Roxas sang, grinning as Rosie began to jump up and down happily.

"Uncle Demyx!"

Namine just shook her head, "I love how Axel's weird cousin is somehow our daughter's favorite person."

Roxas just shrugged, pulling into Axel's driveway. "I think it's that weird sitar thing he plays. Rosie loves that thing."

The moment Rosie was released from her carseat, she took off at a run to tackle Kairi, who was standing with her parents and Demyx on the front porch. Sammy somehow remained asleep as they unbuckled his carrier and handed him over to Demyx.

"Thanks for watching the kids, Dem. I feel like we haven't gotten to see you guys in forever," Namine said, smiling at Axel and Riku.

"It's no problem at all! I love these guys," Demyx said, taking Sammy's carrier. "Now who wants to hear my new song?!"

Kairi and Rosie shrieked in joy, running into the house without so much as a goodbye to their parents. Demyx saluted them, disappearing inside with the kids.

"Lets go! I am starving," Axel said, already making his way to his car. He walked with a bit of a limp now, but he was walking… and that's definitely a huge accomplishment for him.

On their way to the restaurant, the two couples idly chattered away. The long-time friends hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, which was highly unusual for them.

Once they were seated at dinner, Riku suddenly looked up at the trio. "So… I always feel like Axel is never telling me the whole story about how you guys got together. I know he and Namine dated before, but it feels like there's a lot more to the story."

Roxas and Namine exchanged glances, both chuckling a little. "You wanna tell him or should I?" Roxas asked.

Namine shrugged, "You start, I'll jump in somewhere."

"So… back in high school Namine and I actually met online in a chatroom about our favorite video game. Neither of us wanted to give our real names, so… we went under the names 'Sammy' and 'Rosie'. We chatted back and forth for a long time, and sort of just fell in love with each other. When Kairi died, Namine's family moved them across the country and somehow… through some weird twist of fate, she ended up at my school."

Namine took over the story, smiling a little, "Of course, neither of us knew at first… But then Axel asked me out, and since I never thought I was ever going to actually meet Sammy, I said yes. I guess it was the night after our first date that Roxas found out that I was Rosie. Of course, then I was dating his best friend… So he didn't tell me for the longest time! I swear, it was fucking months before I found out he was Sammy. God, I was so pissed that night…"

"You didn't seem that pissed!" Roxas interjected defensively.

She just laughed, "I was livid. I was mad that he waited to tell me, but I was even more angry with myself that I didn't figure it out. The night Axel wrecked his motorcycle, he was literally messaging me as Sammy while hugging me in the waiting room! I had no idea!"

"Wait, so what exactly happened when you found out he was Sammy?" Riku asked, on the edge of his chair.

"We kissed…" Namine admitted, looking at Axel sheepishly. "But then I decided to stay with Axel. I was in love with you, ya know!"

Axel just laughed, "I was in love with you too, Nami."

"But… as much as I tried, I couldn't keep Roxas out of my head. Every time I went to sleep I would dream about him, every time I saw him my heart would flutter… It was like the universe was drawing us towards each other no matter how much either of us tried to fight it. On top of it all, Axel and I had started growing further apart."

"I knew that she was falling out of love with me," Axel cut in, "And… that was also about the time in college when I started looking at men differently."

Riku laughed, nodding, "Yeah, and I wasn't making that easy on you… You were the cutest damn freshman I'd ever seen."

"So one day I decided to just sit Axel down and tell him the truth. The entire truth, about Sammy and Roxas and everything," Namine continued, "And… he was surprisingly okay with it. We broke up mutually, no feelings hurt or love lost."

"Then a few weeks later Axel approached me," Roxas picked up, "And basically told me that I had his blessing to be with Namine if it was what I still wanted. So… I bought a ring."

"Whoa…" Riku mumbled, "I had no idea all of that was going on back in college. So you just proposed out of the blue like that? Like, you didn't even date or anything?"

Roxas shrugged, "At that point, we'd been best friends for so long that it wasn't necessary. I literally threw my heart on the line…"

"But I said yes immediately," Namine finished his sentence, grabbing his hand. "We got married as soon as we were done with school."

"Well yeah, I was at your wedding," Riku laughed, rolling his eyes. "Actually, Axel… was that our first official date as a couple?"

Axel nodded, "It was… One of your moron friends came waltzing up to me one day and told me that you liked me and said I should ask you out. I was going to the wedding alone anyways, so I figured I'd give it a shot."

"I totally put him up to that, you know. I was too nervous to ask you out myself," Riku admitted, blushing a little.

"You? You always seemed so cool and confident and carefree," Axel said in disbelief. "I was so jealous of that… You were really that nervous to ask me out?"

Riku shrugged again, putting his hands up, "And now look at us… over ten years later and we have our own little girl."

"You two don't know how much it means to me that you named her Kairi…" Namine told them, smiling in rememberance of her sister. "She honors my sister in the most perfect of ways."

"She is kinda perfect, huh?" Axel mused, grinning to himself.

Namine sighed, thinking to herself about the past. Back in high school, she never would have seen herself where she was now. She definitely wouldn't have seen Axel where he was. But finally, after years of drama and heartache, everything was as it should be. Life was just… perfect.


End file.
